The winner will have, amongst other benefits, their poem published in the Aké Review 2022, published 24 October.
By Editor
The Poetry Translation Centre, alongside our partners in Nigeria, Book Buzz Foundation are delighted to announce the joint winners of the Lagos/London Poetry Competition:
‘Small Horizons’ by Isaiah Adepoju
‘Fuck Diatrics’ by Muiz Ọpẹ́yẹmí Àjàyí
‘Anamnesis’ by Rahma Jimoh
‘I dream in my mother tongue’ by Sodïq Oyèkànmí
‘Conversations with the Sea’ by Iheoma Uzomba
Selected from a shortlist of 20 by judges Amarachi Attamah, Efe Paul Azino and Kaozara Okikiola Oyalowo, the five winners will:
— Have their poem published in the Aké Review 2022, published 24 October;
— Participate in an online event at the Lagos International Poetry Festival on 28 October; and
— Be part of the Poetry Translation Centre’s next UNDERTOW poet development programme in 2023.
“The arduous task of selecting winners from a range of really good entries was offset by the joy of seeing the breadth of young literary talent they reflect. It will be wonderful to see the works published in a reputable journal like the Ake Review, and to hear them read at the Lagos International Poetry Festival later in October. I am excited to see what they will make of the opportunity, certain that we will be hearing from them for a really long time,” says competition judge, Efe Paul Azino.
The winners, along with other talented young UK-based Nigerian-heritage poets, will be participating in the PTC’s UNDERTOW development scheme. Now in its second year, UNDERTOW offers young poets the opportunity to expand their poetic practice by engaging with their multiple linguistic and cultural identities. The prize winners and the rest of the UNDERTOW cohort will receive one-to-one tutorials, writing workshops, and tailored talks from leading poets, translators and thinkers along with opportunities to develop professionally, publish their work and perform.
About the winners:
Isaiah Adepoju lives in Osun State. A member of the Hilltop Creative Arts Foundation, he is a reader for Adroit Journal and Deputy Editor-in-Chief of The Nigeria Review. He is the recipient of the 2021 HIASFEST Star Prize and the 2021 Chima Ugokwe Prize for Essay, and has been shortlisted for the Ken Saro Wiwa Prize for Review. His debut novel is forthcoming from Abibiman Publishing (2023).
Muiz Ọpẹ́yẹmí Àjàyí (Frontier XVIII) studies Law at the University of Ibadan. He is an editor at The Nigeria Review, a poetry reader for Adroit Journal, 2021 ARTmosterrific writer-in-residence, and second runner-up for the PROFWIC and the BKPW Poetry Prize. His work has been published or is forthcoming in 20.35 Africa, Frontier Poetry, Poetry Wales, Nigerian NewsDirect, Trampset and elsewhere.
Rahma Jimoh’s works have appeared in Agbowo, Kalahari Review, Tab Journal, Lucent Dreaming, Olongo Africa and Feral, among others. She was a 2020 Hues Foundation scholar and the lead representative for Poets in Nigeria, Olabisi Onabanjo University Connect Center. Her poem ‘Walking’ was nominated for a Pushcart Prize in 2020.
Sodïq Oyèkànmí writes from Ìbàdàn. A Pushcart Prize and Best of the Net nominee, his works have been published or are forthcoming in Poetry Wales, Strange Horizons, Lucent Dreaming, trampset, Brittle Paper, VAINE Magazine, Olney Magazine and elsewhere. His work was commended for the 2022 Adroit Poetry Prize.
Iheoma Uzomba is a student of English and Literary Studies at the University of Nigeria Nsukka. She is a spoken word artist and a performance poet. She is currently the poetry editor of The Muse no. 49 journal. Her poems have been published in Rattle, The Shore Poetry, Kissing Dynamite, The Rising Phoenix Review and elsewhere.
— Culled from the Poetry Translation website.