Nigerian-American poet Kyle Okeke has been selected as one of nine finalists in the 17th Annual Poetry Contest for his poem, Gate of Opening.
The contest is organized by Narrative, a leading digital publisher of fiction, poetry, essays, and art. Narrative features the work of both emerging writers and acclaimed authors, including winners of the Nobel Prize, Pulitzer Prize, and National Book Award.
Kyle Okeke has received several notable honors, including the Poetry Society of America Chapbook Fellowship and the Monica K. Roberts Graduate Award in Black Queer Studies. His poems have appeared or are forthcoming in Glass: A Journal of Poetry, Foglifter, and Poetry Magazine, among others.
Following the contest, the finalists’ works will undergo editorial review before publication in Narrative, with readers notified once the pieces are live.
Congratulations, Kyle Okeke!
Sarah Adeyemo
Sarah Adeyemo is a poet, writer, editor, and spoken word artiste from Nigeria. She is a fellow of the SprinNG Writing Fellowship. Sarah has work published or forthcoming work in ANMLY Lit, D’Iit Review, The Fiery Scribe Review, Con-Scio Magazine, Sevhage Review, Okiti Literary, Synchronized Chaos Magazine, Pepper Coast Magazine, The Weeds Review, Akpata Magazine, The Shallow Tales Review, The Muse Journal, The Weganda Review, Everscribe Magazine, Afrillhill Press, TV-63 Magazine, Poems for Persons Interest, Northern Writers Forum Journal, Eboquills, Rinna Lit. Anthologies, and elsewhere. Her works have been shortlisted for the 2025 Labari Prize for Poetry and longlisted for the 2025 Eriata Oribhabor Poetry Prize. She serves as the Managing Editor at Words-Empire Magazine, a Poetry Editor at Yarnz Magazine, PFPOI, and a News & Feature writer at the Journal of African Youth Literature (JAY Lit). She was a writing resident of the Rongo Artist Residency in 2026 and is currently a writing resident at the Ebedi International Writers Residency. She is a member of The Swan Collective. A dramatic poet who tweets @sarahinkspires.
