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Poetry Column
Naija Poetry Fest successfully hosted the April 2026 edition of its monthly creative gathering, Poetic Rendezvous, in celebration of World Earth Day. The event took place at the Alliance Française de Lagos, Mike Adenuga Centre, Ikoyi, bringing together poets, environmental advocates, storytellers, and art enthusiasts for an engaging and impactful experience. Themed “Saving the World ...
Poetry Column
Ridwan Fasasi It's quite a sight, the car,as it rattled passed the old trees, into the yellow dust.Dried forsythia on the black tire.Something is murdered, out of innocence,to save another. Unlike the trees in theirabsence of leaves, the boys waved their hand,as they followed the trails of what is leftof the smoke. After you left, ...
Poetry Column
C.K. Danjuma For H Like July in full bloom,I have seen the hibiscus petals on the field open themselves to want.It’s the same way memory opens the body To what wounds it. I must learn how to stop mourning you,I must close my eyes& pretend the knifed memory dulls the flesh it cut. This poem is how ...
Poetry Column
By Abdulrasaq Taslim The way a body learns healing, the tactics:bondage heaved into the soil of ruins,encrypted with grief — the soul well-versed in rupture. Grief, always oblivious to the grammar of pity.The rupture: how the body is robbedof essence while silence slowly moldslight from the debris of darkness. Many things amaze me: softness sippinginto ...
Poetry Column
for L And then the lodestone arrives at the door. It pulls the stiff nails away from the wood: Dispassion crumbles at the room-stead of the heart. In such a room, the tyranny of dust Is visible upon the bowl, upon the knife, Upon the Pothos Withering by the wooden window. And you, my lodestone, ...
Literature & Arts
The first shot cracks open the red mouth of a wound, and the ballroom begins to hemorrhage music. Glass nerves shatter with the chandeliers. Bone dust rises. The woman beside the fire splits the night open like overripe pawpaw and presses into my hands a bowl of venom warm as rainwater. Drink. Her voice— a ...
Poetry Column
By Sosy Imafidon walking into memory through the orifice of a purple scar i found mother inventing newer ways to embalm her grief when a body grows cold it does so in degrees— rapidly through everything that seems to cauterize the agony on a mother’s lips i foresee the decay & treat the body with ...
Poetry Column
unlike the prisoner in a cellar, i am in a whirlpool with salmon sprawls and dolphins ageing my consciousness. the weightlessness of sea current, like love undone by the proboscises sucking the pale blue blood. darkness rushing into a tongue & words becoming starlings, cliffhangers in a brazen nightmare. the wind learning its ways of ...
Poetry Column
The Naija Poetry Fest Community, in collaboration with Alliance Française de Lagos, hosted its Poetry Rendezvous on Saturday, February 21, 2026, at the Mike Adenuga Centre, Ikoyi, Lagos, drawing poets, performers, visual artists and literary enthusiasts into a vibrant celebration of spoken word and creative expression. Themed “Let Love Lead,” with the sub-theme “Seeing through ...
Poetry Column
by Kosisochukwu Precious Onuoha In Catholicism, the mystery of light is Thursday nights— one day left till the weekend and i’m fed up already. i'm walking on the thin line of curbing, foot in front of the other like a tightrope, and i'm clutching your shoulder so i don't fall off. we stroll around the ...
Literature & Arts
Book: The Years of Blood (96 pages)Author: Adedayo AgarauPublisher: Fordham University Press, New YorkYear: September 2025ISBN: 9781531511616 “Instead of music, my father’s old radio reports missing people” Wind carries sound. The introductory poem, aptly titled, opens portals of grief and lets out the ghost of a country’s conscience—the cry of blood, pounding of pestles, and ...
Literature & Arts
...Recasts Delilah as a figure of strategy, emotional insight Things I Learned From Delilah by Felicity Ekeke calls on readers to rethink one of history’s most debated women. In this bold work of nonfiction, Ekeke revisits the biblical account of Delilah and presents her not as the infamous betrayer etched into popular imagination, but as ...
Poetry Column
a prayer cracks in my throat—shattering to gravel. syllables grinding between the cobblestones of my teeth. this body, a hollowed chapel from the end of the river. my voice, a rock skipped over water, each ripple a small defeat. the shore stays thirsty. the poem starts like this: what’s left when a wound dries? scabs? ...
Poetry Column
by Henry Opeyemi oh Lord, perpetual pain I can't be at home where my father lays. [ Daniel Caesar, Sins of The Father] the stillness in my voice won't placate the scream, alchemy of blood flowing in crimson blue. my ache is a language God understands perfectly & I’m thawing my body into something that can ...
Poetry Column
Poetry Column-NND’s Ilemobayo Victoria Ojo caught up with Adamu Yahuza Abdullahi, author of The Rainbow Is Not As Beautiful As My Ruins, to discuss his motivations, craft, and recent HCAF Excellence Award. Hello Adamu, where does this conversation find you today? . I am Adamu Yahuza Abdullahi, a poet and visual artist from Borgu, Nigeria. ...
Poetry Column
By Farida Yahaya Tijjani The fish is dead, but its armour holds still. A mosaic of silver coins overlapping like roof tiles on a flooded house. My mother hands me the knife, a dull, rusted thing, and teaches me the art of subtraction. Scrape. The sound—a zipper forced open. The scales fly off in a ...
Poetry Column
Round shadowed blues singer on the banjo, quivering face of the possessed muse, with a single string finger the yellow evening and make the misery in us seep along the much treaded footpath of this dance that eagerly quakes on our slow tiptoes and arched heels. Give us breath to move against the collarbone of ...
Poetry Column
Ismail Yusuf Olumoh I will retell the story of light: somehow, I am in love again, or at least considering it. The night is undressing me. So long, there is no end to be seen of the violet dark. I want to invent myself into a conversation & ask someone to give me a name. ...
Poetry Column
The NIGERIAN NEWSDIRECT CHAPBOOK AWARDS is an initiative of Poetry Column-NND that seeks to promote the voices of Nigerian poets, as the column does weekly in our newspaper. We hope to prioritise consistency of the award, and in so doing, document the vibrant work being put out by contemporary Nigerian poets. Two selected poets will ...
Poetry Column
Hope and resilience were not merely discussed at the final Naija Poetry Fest gathering of 2025 they were felt, embodied, and spoken into existence. Hosted at Alliance Française Lagos in collaboration with Naija Poetry Fest, the evening marked a reflective and fitting close to a year defined by literary depth, communal strength, and creative courage. ...
Poetry Column
By Victory Ocheme Kwame, Come Home is a soul-wrenching and evocative collection that moves past the boundaries of poetry and prose. It is not merely a book; it is an experience, a lament, and a mirror into the emotional wreckage left by displacement, loss, and the pursuit of survival. Through a carefully woven narrative of ...
Poetry Column
The third edition of INKterlude, a flagship literary and creative showcase by INKspiredng, is set to hold on Saturday, November 29, 2025, at the National Museum of Unity, Ibadan. Tagged INKterlude 3.0, this year’s event will explore the theme, “The Future of Poetry.” The golden city of Ibadan once again takes centre stage as INKterlude ...
Poetry Column
The newest episode of The Poems I Love has been released on Wednesday, with Nigerian poet Pamilerin Jacob appearing as the guest for Episode 46. The poetry-centered podcast, hosted by writer and publisher Servio Gbadamosi, invites guests to read and reflect on the poems they love, offering listeners intimate encounters with influential works and the ...
Poetry Column
The Naija Poetry Fest Community delivered yet another inspiring edition of its monthly series, Poetic Rendezvous, themed “Who Will Tell Your Story?”. The event held on Saturday, 15 November 2025, at Alliance Française de Lagos, Mike Adenuga Centre, 9 Osborne Road, Ikoyi. In collaboration with the cultural centre, the literary community transformed the space into ...
Poetry Column
Nigerian writer and poet Peter Okonkwo has officially released his highly anticipated poetry collection, Kwame Come Home, under P. English Literature (PEL). The launch took place during the Black South West Network (BSWN) CultureBiz Connect Artist Showcase at We The Curious, Bristol a landmark event celebrating Black and racially minoritized artists across the West of ...
Poetry Column
The city of Lagos is set to witness a cultural and creative spectacle as literary brilliance meets cinematic legacy at the official unveiling of A Trip in Motion, a new book by Godson Osarenren, founder and convener of the renowned Naija Poetry Fest. The event, scheduled for Thursday, November 27, 2025, at 4:00 p.m., will ...
Poetry Column
by Flourish Joshua Bradford’s cultural heartbeat pulsed with emotion and pride as the Nigerian Community Association Bradford (NCAB) marked Nigeria’s 65th Independence anniversary with colour, laughter, and sober reflection.The evening’s centrepiece, The Coffee Shop, a theatre production written and directed by Chris Iheuwa, became more than entertainment; it was a mirror held up to Africa’s ...
Poetry Column
The American Corner Lekki, in partnership with Naija Poetry Fest, hosted a vibrant celebration of Black History Month on Friday, 31st October 2025, at its Lagos space. Themed “Across the Ocean, Sail Away,” the event gathered poets, artists, musicians, and cultural enthusiasts for an afternoon of reflection, performance, and community spirit. Brilliantly anchored by Isidinma, ...
Poetry Column
St Michaels Catholic Church, Ilishan-Remo, has announced the winners of its poetry competition, themed "This Little Light of Mine." The judge, Pamilerin Jacob, selected the winners based on originality, imperfectness, and raw skill. He praised the young winners for their unique perspectives and voices, saying their poems were inspiring and compelling. "The winning poems have ...
Poetry Column
The Ibadan Book and Arts Festival (IbaFest) is set to hold its inaugural edition on Friday and Saturday, October 24–25, 2025. Rooted in the city long regarded as Nigeria’s literary capital, IbaFest 2025 aims to be a major celebration of storytelling, creativity, and cultural dialogue. The festival will kick off with virtual sessions on Friday, ...