Joemario Umana is one of the rising voices in contemporary Nigerian poetry. Hailing from Maiduguri, Umana’s work explores the intricacies of identity, vulnerability, and the interaction between the physical and the emotive poetic realms. Umana is a SprinNG fellow, member…
Abu Bakr Sadiq is the author of Leaked Footages (University of Nebraska Press, 2024), which won the 2023 Sillerman First Book Prize for African Poetry. “Leaked Footages” is a profound meditation on loss, memory, and the search for meaning in a world…
I wrote this novel to show people that love and relationships could be so much better, different than what they’re used to.
Chika Unigwe is a Nigerian-born author and professor known for her powerful storytelling, especially on themes of migration, identity, and resilience. Her works, including On Black Sisters’ Street and The Middle Daughter, explore complex human experiences through African and immigrant…
In this interview, we delve into Esebre’s thoughts on memory, perspective, and the responsibilities of a nonfiction writer. How does a writer draw the line between fact and feeling? How do personal memories influence the stories we tell? These are…
a superhero who forgets.a bag of chips, Family Size.a feast of flies buzzing my name.a mundane Monday.a loping coyote crying for flesh.a box of wings w/out weight.a diet of treats.a griot drinking a calabash song.a knife-sharpened tongue.a bone bruised blue.a…
Garden Poem My mother taught me, every garden startswith weeding. So to create life, we must firstderacinate. It is our nature to dress destructionin clothes made of flowers. Today, I picked a spot to place my gardenand sharpened my cutlass…
whatever you say into the wind takes form,for there is power in your tongue, the preacher said ever since, I’ve been waging warwith the wind with my tongue the wind has refused to shapeshifto, how I envy the sky how…
“…How Do I salvage the wrecked steel of my heart from the red Of an unholy war?”— Timi Sanni Bundle this noise out my window. Huddle me against the world. Warm Lord,You cuddle me when I grow cold With loneliness. I have traipsedTo…
Cactus Yours is a snowshoe devotion—a heart built for all weather. Friends say you’re prone, thatYou’re made up of small bones Of emotions. Tendon of smile,Vein of laughter— you’re soft & warm like the bosom of sky! But how do you keep The…
Far and beyondthe horizon of comfortInto a jungle of huddle, puzzles and struggles.A place where the sun refuses to shineits golden ray upon the eyes of the foresighted.A place where souls are painted with stains of pain.Goals are ornamented with…
If I were asked when it all started, I would say it was the night after she had Somkene. In the weeks leading up to that night, Chi-Chi looked forward to having her child, decorating the nursery with different shades…
When Morris answered his doorbell, no one was there, but a small cardboard box was leaning against the front door. It arrived anonymously—no return address, no card, and no clue as to its origin. Rather than opening the box immediately,…
The clouds are drifting away, like Pa and Ma. The moon is left alone in the middle of the sky. Around it is nothing but a blank sky. The stars dim in appearance in their brilliant radiance. There is nothing…
Not so long ago, in a time when salt was as precious as gold, there once was a family whose story whispered through the winds of time. They lived in Shamba, a land of secrets and wonders, where every stone…
A young person navigates a deteriorating market while reflecting on their abusive home life.
We enjoy our birthdays until they make us feel old, remind us of our mortality or portend something unpleasant. Jack Adams had his one month earlier. He had mixed feelings the day he turned 47. When he got home from…
“Don’t take too long washing these dishes,” Gary said. “Santa’s coming soon.” He gave his mother a squeeze from behind at the sink and kissed Sierra’s neck. He rubbed his hand over her stomach, too, before heading back to the…