Unbound is the first anthology to periscope the works of the emerging generation of Nigerian poets born in the late 20th and early 21st centuries.
By Jeffrey Agbo
Griots Lounge Publishing Canada, in association with the editors —Nduka Otiono, an associate professor and director of the Institute of African Studies, Carleton University, and Darlington Chibueze Anuonye, a PhD student at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln and research assistant at the African Poetry Book Fund — has announced the acquisition of a generational poetry anthology, Unbound: An Anthology of New Nigerian Poets Under 40.
It is an agenda-setting anthology featuring the Griffin Poetry Prize and Governor General’s award-winning Nigerian-Canadian poet, Tolu Oloruntoba; Romeo Oriogun, winner of the 2022 Nigeria Prize for Literature; Saddiq M Dzukogi; Fumi Gaji, Gbenga Adeoba; Logan February; Amarachi Attamah, Ndubuisi Aniemeke, and other noteworthy poets.
The volume provokes intergenerational conversations with its forerunners such as Voices from the Fringes (1988), edited by Harry Garuba; Poets in their Youth (1988), edited Uche Nduka and Ositadinma Ike; Gems Out of Africa: A Wake Anthology of 100 Nigerian Poets (1998), edited by Eddie Ayo-Ojo, Obafemi Obadare and Mac Amarere; and Camouflage: Best of Contemporary Nigerian Writing (2006) edited by Nduka Otiono and Odoh Diego Okenyodo.
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But importantly, Unbound is the first anthology to periscope the works of the emerging generation of Nigerian poets born in the late 20th and early 21st centuries, most of whom launched their writing careers on social media.
The unique anthology will be released in March 2024. Griots Lounge Publishing Canada will first launch the collection in Canada and the United States, before it moves to the rest of the world. Carefully curated and professionally edited, Unbound: An Anthology of New Nigerian Poets Under 40 is expected to further showcase the enduring power of Nigerian poetry to stakeholders on the global literary scene.
Pre-order is currently available via the University of Toronto Press Distribution and all available bookstores in Canada and the United States.
