257 poems submitted for Pius Adesanmi anthology

Nduka Otiono and Uchechukwu Umezurike, editors of the proposed anthology, Wreaths for a Wayfarer, in memory of Professor Pius Adesanmi, which will be published in the last quarter of the year by Daraja Press (Canada) and Narrative Landscape Press (Nigeria) respectively, have received 257 poems from within and outside Africa.

The submissions by established and budding poets come from Nigeria, Ghana, Kenya, Zambia, Malawi, Tanzania, Uganda, Ethiopia, and South Africa. From outside of Africa, poets from Canada, Italy, The Netherlands, Sri Lanka, India, United Kingdom, etc., also submitted towards the anthology.

Interestingly, a 10-year old Nigerian-Canadian boy joined the league of poets who submitted poems for the anthology.

The editors, while thanking everyone who submitted their poems for consideration for publication in the anthology, expressed delight at the number, diversity, and quality of the submissions.

“These highly competitive submissions,” stated the editors, “represent the transnational connections of Professor Adesanmi’s life and work.” The editors also revealed that a leading Nigerian artist, Victor Ehikhamenor, as well as a notable graphic artist and former Art Director at ThisDay newspaper and Arise Networks, Ochi Ogbuaku, are already working on the cover design of the anthology.

Meanwhile, the submissions for the anthology are already being evaluated in line with the guidelines provided in the call for poems.

The editors have assured that all submissions would be fairly assessed irrespective of the reputation of the poets.

Final decisions on submissions will be communicated to all who submitted by the end of May—whether successful or not.