Nigerian – American writer, Kyle Okeke has been unveiled as one of the two winners of the 2024 Poetry Society Of America Chapbook Fellowships for his manuscript, A Door in the Snow.
The Box, one of the poems in Kyle Okeke’s manuscript, A Door in the Snow, is a powerful and symbolic exploration of a boy’s journey through trauma, identity, and self-discovery. It seems to describe the boy’s processing of his mother’s beheading, which he had previously depicted in a disturbing finger-painting. The poem suggests that the boy is struggling to come to terms with his past and his gender identity, using imagery and metaphor to convey his emotions and experiences. The “Box” in the poem may represent a safe space or a confined space, where the boy can retreat and confront his feelings. The poem also touches on themes of memory, suffering, and the search for solace and self-expression.
Launched in 2003, the PSA’s Chapbook Program publishes each winner’s work as a gorgeous chapbook, allowing new voices to reach new audiences. The Poetry Society Of America Chapbook Fellowships is awarded once a year to two New York poets under 30 years of age who have yet to publish a first book of poems. Two renowned poets select and introduce a winning manuscript for publication. Each winner receives an additional $1000 prize.
Kyle Okeke is a Nigerian-American writer from Sugar Land, Texas, whose work appears or will appear in the following literary journals: Glass: a Journal of Poetry, Foglifter, and Poetry Magazine, among others. He is pursuing an MFA in creative writing at the University of Texas at Austin’s New Writers Project.
Congratulations Kyle!
Bakare Oluwatobiloba
I write to educate, motivate and define history with literature. Just being me!
