—African Literary Giant Tanure Ojaide Joins Konya Shamsrumi with Adult Love: Tending the Garden of Small Things.
Abuja, Nigeria—Abuja-based poetry-only publishing house, Konya Shamsrumi, has acquired the rights to a new poetry collection titled Adult Love: Tending The Garden of Small Things by preeminent Nigerian poet, Tanure Ojaide. A formal signing ceremony took place on August 2, 2025.
Born in 1948, Tanure Ojaide is one of Africa’s most distinguished poets and literary voices whose body of work spans over five decades and engages deeply with themes of environmental justice, cultural memory, and political integrity. With over 20 books published, Tanure Ojaide’s first collection, Children of the Iroko and Other Poems, was released in 1973, and his seminal 1990 collection, The Fate of the Vulture…, is widely regarded as one of his most influential works. His poems are rooted in Urhobo aesthetics through which he expresses deeply felt political and eco-centric concerns. He is currently the Frank Porter Graham Professor of Africana Studies at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte.
A multiple award-winning author, Ojaide’s accolades include the Commonwealth Poetry Prize (Africa Region), the Wole Soyinka Prize for Literature in Africa, the Nigerian National Order of Merit (NNOM), and the Fonlon-Nichols Award for Excellence in African Writing.
“It is exciting to welcome Tanure Ojaide to the Konya Shamsrumi family,” S. Su’eddie Vershima Agema, Managing Editor of Konya Shamsrumi noted. “He is a key part of our nation’s literary tradition. His voice continues to illuminate, provoke, and inspire across generations. This latest offering, Adult Love, is a powerful addition to his already monumental oeuvre and we are honoured to bring it into the world.”
Adult Love: Tending the Garden of Small Things is scheduled for release in October 2025.
Founded in 2019 by Richard Ali and Umar Abubakar Sidi, Konya Shamsrumi has emerged as a vital platform for contemporary African poetry. Its allied collective includes poets Funmi Gaji, Rasaq Malik Gbolahan, Nasiba Babale, and Ismail Bala Garba. The publisher’s digital platform, www.shamsrumi.org, offers poetry content from Africa and its diaspora, while its Digital Editions series—dedicated to chapbooks—is curated by poet and critic Carl Terver.
Issued by: Omokafe Hannah Dennis
Email: omokafe@shamsrumi.org
Phone: +234 817 456 9753