The Alhaji Arole Agarawu Foundation has announced its African Poetry Prize longlist, featuring 30 poetry manuscripts selected from 356 submissions received from poets across the African continent and its global diaspora.
The longlist includes:
- Bright Poems of Lyric by Bright Aboagye, Ghana.
- Decolonized Ear by Daniel Naawenkangua Abukuri, Ghana.
- Tattoo For Survivors Of Suicide by Adegoke Adeola, Nigeria.
- Alfred: Cantos by Isaiah Adepoju, Nigeria.
- In the Fusillade by Samuel Adeyemi, Nigeria.
- Dog Fighting a Heron by Ameen Animashaun, United States.
- EGG RACE & other poems by Kayode Ayobami, Nigeria.
- Tegument by Olumide Manuel Ayodele, Nigeria.
- Ordinary Tenderness by Emmanuel Chukwu, Nigeria.
- Bonu Bonu Kpoo by Edinam Denoo, Ghana.
- God Is Late Again by Felix Eshiet, Nigeria.
- Infest by Marvellous Mmesomachi Igwe, Nigeria.
- The Lord of Loneliness by Rafiat Lamidi, Nigeria.
- By The Sweat of The Mountain’s Brow by Sydney Mayes, United States.
- A Catalog of Soft Ruins by Alhassan Mohammed, Ghana.
- Ndombolo Creation Story by Migwi Mwangi, United States.
- Monologue with God in his Bivouac by Blessing Omeiza Ojo, Nigeria.
- Poem For The Imperialist Lion Munching On My Ivory Bone, And Other Poems by Michael Okafor, Nigeria.
- Litany of a Dying Father by Chisom Okoronkwo, United Kingdom.
- Aubade for the Living by Obinna Okwesili, Nigeria.
- Ten Poems%! by A Oladejo, Nigeria.
- The Proverbial Ram by Adesiyan Oluwapelumi, Nigeria.
- John the Baptist by Chiwenite Onyekwelu, Nigeria.
- Litany for the Body I Keep by Henry Opeyemi, Nigeria.
- Manifesto of some sort & other poems by Joel Oyèlékè, Nigeria.
- Transcedence and other poems by Tamani Tatiana Sale, Nigeria.
- African Metaphysics: A Relational Ontology and Other Poems by Kevin Daniel Scheepers, South Africa.
- Baggage of Assorted Wishes by Rasheed Ayinla Shehu Shehu, Nigeria.
- All the lost, wandering cities and the bleeding people that love them and other poems by Aishat Yahkub, Nigeria.
- Grains of Paradise by Salma Abdulatif Yusuf, Kenya.
The prize is established in memory of Alhaji Arole Agarawu (1930s–1995), whose work contributed significantly to Yoruba musical traditions such as Sakara, Apala, and Waka. Through the prize, the Foundation seeks to recognize poets who demonstrate strong attention to form, language, and rhythm while continuing the tradition of African lyric expression.
Congratulations to all longlisted poets!
