Cenotaph
By Bayo Aderoju Something about wanting to be the head of a headless mob like the young activist who has never read Jeyifo, who said: Frantz Fanon is a wretched name. Some are preaching positive asphyxiation of some of the…
poetry column-nnd
Invisibility
By Zaynab Bobi Law of invisibility: arrange the atoms in a solid object randomly. Heat at high temperature and cool down immediately. There is a realm in my mouth In my mouth, there is a dream In the dream, men…
WINNERS & FINALISTS: NIGERIAN NEWSDIRECT CHAPBOOK AWARDS
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 prioritize consistency of the award, and in so doing,…
CALL FOR MANUSCRIPTS: NIGERIAN NEWSDIRECT CHAPBOOK AWARDS 2022
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 prioritize consistency of the award, and in so doing,…
Every Unfettered Joy
By Ayoade Olamide Joy, they say, approaches in the morning, but this one breaking from my skin holds the semblance of a comet & I don’t know when it would hit. This art of liberty forms a laceration on my…
Fall
By Joy Mamudu The first time I saw a rake, I was a child lost in the wonder of the metal fingers that gathered leaves into heaps I could roll in later, my laughter burning like incense to the gods…
Metagraph of a boy against an economy of wounds
By Olumide Manuel boy in a tarmac of bruises, rigid winds with sharp tips washing off his scalp like a cinnabar of fresh amnesia. raids of fright reminiscent of the grime of the bloodflood; the residual of soiled platelets; banks…
Portrait of Childhood
By Olowo Qudus Opeyemi where i came from/ still smells of wet hyacinths & rotten mangoes/ that is what—the rain brings out of that place/ & i’m beginning to travel back to memories/ where grief was a mirage/ & grandma’s…
The remaking to miracles
By Amina Akinola i’ve watched leaves change colour / seasons / fading into oblivion / life wander across my eyes / like smoke / into unknown destinations initially / every part of myself had a lingering of yesterday / gushing…
lost/ if found please return
By Sodïq Oyèkànmí —after reading Adedayo Agarau tonight i take a piece of paper & fill it with the names of everything lost to the rumbling river to the earth …