At the core of Konya Shamsrumi is the KSR Collective. Inaugural members are five Nigerian poets. More members will be added each year so we hold all of Africa’s verse in a pot from which a spoonful can heal, give strength, cast spells on tyranny, cause roses to bloom, secure a lover’s heart and more.
Umar Abubakar Sidi
UMAR ABUBAKAR SIDI hails from Sokoto, Nigeria. He attended the Nigerian Military School, Zaria and the Nigerian Defence Academy, Kaduna. He is presently a helicopter pilot in the Nigerian military. His poems have been widely published including a chapbook in Saraba Magazine, and other poems in Brittle Paper, the Enkare Review and others.
Abubakar Sidi will be publishing his debut collection of poems with Konya Shamsrumi.
Richard Ali
RICHARD ALI has been writing poetry since 2008. He is a Nigerian lawyer and novelist who was a runner-up for the 2008 John la Rose Short Story Competition. He has served as Editor-in-Chief of the quarterly Sentinel Nigeria Magazine and the ANA Review. His 2012 novel, City of Memories, was recently reissued by Parresia Books. His poems have been published widely.
Richard will be publishing his debut collection of poems with Konya Shamsrumi.
Rasaq Malik Gbolahan
Rasaq was born in Iseyin in south-western Nigeria. His poems have been widely anthologized and he is also a noted performance poet. A graduate of the University of Ibadan, Gbolahan is a cultural enthusiast and his work is strongly influenced by Yoruba cosmology. He was shortlisted for the 2017 Brunel African Poetry Prize.
Gbolahan will be publishing her first chapbook with Konya Shamsrumi.
Funmi Gaji
FUNMI GAJI was born in Lagos, Nigeria. She has a Master’s degree in Literature-in-English from the University of Ibadan where she is currently a doctoral student. She is an editor, a proof-reader and a freelance writer and has taught Literature-in-English at the secondary and tertiary levels. She is curious about astrology, old Hollywood, history and pop culture. She draws her inspiration from mythology, pop culture and politics.
Funmi will be publishing her first chapbook with Konya Shamsrumi.
Andrea Grieder
Andrea Grieder is a Swiss poet with a Ph.D. in anthropology. She is also the founder and director of Transpoesis. Based in Kigali, Transpoesis aims at creating space of poetic creativity, especially with workshops and performances, audio and video production of poems. Transpoesis strives at transforming people’s life through poetry. With her team, she runs Kigali Vibrates With Poetry, a 3-monthly poetry competition whose winners are rewarded with the Nyirarumaga Award, in reference to Nyirarumaga, the mother of poetry in Rwanda. Her book Memories of a Thousand Hills was published by Globethics (2016). With a passion for travelling, she is conducting workshops in India, Switzerland and that places where poetry calls her.
She is a Technical Consultant to the KSRCollective.
