The process has been long and tedious, though fruitful. Thankful to the judges for their diligence & brilliance sorting through the hundreds of entries (total: 1132 submissions). We present to you, in no particular order, the longlist for Nigerian NewsDirect…
By Ruona to be at the pinnacle’s peak –no more bars to cross not one prayer to say even here is the world swirling chaotic around me and i am breathing the confusion settled around my neck to…
By Roseline Mgbodichinma I. In the chapel, the bell rings & the pendulum swings all into solemnity – the same way a mother’s breast becomes hose and stills the clamour of a child, The only salvation I know is an…
By Haneefah Bello healing begins whenever you are ready – Ashley Davis honey, turmeric, chlorine & cloves. closed eyes, deep breaths, the cracking, then the counting: how many parts were you cleaved into? green bells ringing, limp shells bringing…
By Anointing Obuh This is how I remember my home downtown: Flowers fisting together like a child[‘s] hand, sprayed along the meagre journey From the patio to my room. The rain outside similar, to my mother’s tired eyes in this…
By Ejiro Elizabeth Edward I am earning loss as an inheritance Despair is a betrothal of life & death & my best friend is growing towards her extinction The doctor announces a new cell sprouting, coiling itself into her bone…
By Pamilerin Jacob Mid-February, I encountered a scholarly work that documents 50 women poets from 1985-2006. I mentioned this in my editorial note of the inaugural issue of EREMITE POETRY. I’d said: “…while working on an article for Poetry Column-NND,…
This March, in commemoration of Women’s History Month, we will be publishing only women. And we are happy to announce Jakky Bankong-Obi as the guest editor for the month! Jakky’s poem, Braven, has been previously published by Poetry Column-NND. She is…
For P By Ibe Obasiota Ben The love I’ve known is the love of / two people staring/ not at each other but in the same direction. — Frank Bidart I am a deserter. Somewhere, a man speaks to the…
By Akpa Arinzechukwu I dip a finger in the deep ocean just to reach you. Your absence ebbs me towards the improbable. I wake up again in a body no longer mine, an identity on a reckless person’s table. The…
