Nigerian poet, Rasaq Malik Gbolahan has won the 2024 Anhinga Prize for Poetry for his amazing collection, The Origin of Wounds.
The Anhinga Prize for Poetry, established in 1983 by Anhinga Press in Tallahassee, Florida, is a prestigious annual award recognizing outstanding poetry manuscripts by U.S. poets writing in English. Open to poets of all experience levels, the competition celebrates innovative and impactful poetry, requiring submissions of 48–100 pages. It offers a $1,000 prize, publication by Anhinga Press, 25 author copies, and, as of 2025, a $500 stipend for book-related travel. Manuscripts are screened by a diverse team of paid readers and Anhinga Board members, with the top ten finalists judged by a renowned poet, such as past judges Joy Harjo and Naomi Shihab Nye.
Selected from a wide range of incredible pieces by Iranian-American writer and translator, Kaveh Bassiri, Gbolahan’s piece showcases his ability to weave intricate narratives that resonate with readers on a profound level.
“The Origin of Wounds is a beautiful elegy to war and violence,” Bassiri remarked, emphasised the collection’s depth and emotional resonance.
Born in 1992, Rasaq Malik Gbolahan is a Nigerian poet and essayist known for his melancholic poetry, often characterized by dirges, threnodies, and elegies that explore themes of grief, war, and social issues. A graduate of the University of Ibadan, where he earned his bachelor’s and master’s degrees in English Language in 2013 and 2017, respectively, Malik has made significant contributions to African literature.
He is the author of two poetry chapbooks, No Home In This Land (2018) and The Other Names of Grief (2021), and his work has been widely published in prestigious literary journals such as the African American Review, Colorado Review, and Prairie Schooner, as well as platforms like LitHub and Verse Daily.
Malik co-founded Àtẹ́lẹwọ́, the first digital journal dedicated to Yorùbá-language works, and served as the founding Editor-in-Chief of Agbowó. His poetry has garnered critical acclaim, earning him an Honorable Mention in the 2015 Best of the Net, Pushcart Prize nominations in 2016 and 2019, and shortlists for the Brunel International African Poetry Prize (2017) and Sillerman First Book for African Poets (2018).
Additionally, he contributed to notable anthologies like Wreaths for a Wayfarer (2019) and Sọ̀rọ̀sókè: An #EndSARS Anthology (2022), reflecting his engagement with pressing social issues in Nigeria. Malik’s work and interviews have been featured in platforms like Open Country Mag, Olongo Africa, and The Shallow Tales Review, solidifying his reputation as a leading voice in African poetry and African literature as a whole.
Congratulations Rasaq Malik Gbolahan!
Bakare Oluwatobiloba
I write to educate, motivate and define history with literature. Just being me!
