Arewa Poetry Review, in partnership with SEVHAGE, Konya Shamsrumi, and African & Black Creatives for Development (ABC4DE), has released A Fire Kept Quiet, a new anthology spotlighting poets from Northern Nigeria.
Edited by Abdulrazaq Salihu, with a foreword by S. Su’eddie Vershima Agema and Oko Owoicho, the collection gathers writers whose work reflects an evolving landscape of form, voice, and experience across the region.
The 52-page anthology centres resilience as a connecting thread, presenting poems that move between the textures of Northern life, its weather, dust, science, memory, and community. Several contributors experiment with structure and imagery while maintaining a clear focus on human stories. The project continues Arewa Poetry Review’s commitment to developing platforms for young writers and expanding the visibility of Northern Nigerian literature.
A Fire Kept Quiet features contributions from Abu Bakr Sadiq, Abdulrazaq Salihu, Abdulrazaq Godwin Omeiza, Ahmad Rufa’l Umar Gani, Al Ameen Muhammad, Aliyu Umar Muhammad, Hussani Abdulrahim, Ibrahim Lawal Aliyu, Idris Sheikh Musa, Illiya Kambai Dennis, Ismail Bala, JL Maikano, Job Samuel Wetpin, Kayode Ayobami, Odu Ode, Ridwan Fasasi, Salmah Hassan Bizi, Yahaya Faza Maibasira, and Zaynab Iliyasu Bobi.
A Fire Kept Quiet is now available for free download as an eBook on Selar accessible by clicking HERE.
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.
