Announcing the 30 Longlisted Suites for the Inaugural Alhaji Arole Agarawu African Poetry Prize

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

LAGOS, Nigeria & GLOBAL — August 2026 — The Arole Agarawu Foundation is delighted to announce the thirty (30) longlisted manuscript suites for the inaugural cycle of the Alhaji Arole Agarawu African Poetry Prize.

Following the close of submissions on May 31, 2026, our editorial reading committee received and reviewed 356 submissions from poets writing across the African continent and its worldwide diaspora. The submission pool represents a sweeping archive of thousands of individual poems, capturing the vitality, rigor, and range of contemporary African poetry.

“Across historical epochs and geographies, these 30 longlisted suites sound the gong of an African poetic tradition that is as formally daring as it is deeply anchored in communal memory. What emerges across these submissions is a profound ethnological tapestry: poets reaching into ancient oral lineages, interrogating the weight of inherited grief, and documenting contemporary migration, urban endurance, and intimate joy.”

— Adedayo Agarau, Director of Programs

The 2026 Longlist

(Listed in alphabetical order by author's last name)

1. Bright Aboagye (Ghana) — “BRIGHT POEMS OF LYRIC”
2. Daniel Naawenkangua Abukuri (Ghana) — “Decolonized Ear”
3. Adegoke Adeola (Nigeria) — “Tattoo For Survivors Of Suicide”
4. Isaiah Adepoju (Nigeria) — “Alfred: Cantos”
5. Samuel Adeyemi (Nigeria) — “In the Fusillade”
6. Ameen Animashaun (United States) — “Dog Fighting a Heron”
7. Kayode Ayobami (Nigeria) — “EGG RACE & other poems”
8. Olumide Manuel Ayodele (Nigeria) — “Tegument”
9. Emmanuel Chukwu (Nigeria) — “Ordinary Tenderness”
10. Edinam Denoo (Ghana) — “Bonu Bonu Kpoo”
11. Felix Eshiet (Nigeria) — “God Is Late Again”
12. Marvellous Mmesomachi Igwe (Nigeria) — “INFEST”
13. Rafiat Lamidi (Nigeria) — “The Lord of Loneliness”
14. Sydney Mayes (United States) — “By The Sweat of The Mountain's Brow”
15. Alhassan Mohammed (Ghana) — “A Catalog of Soft Ruins”
16. Migwi Mwangi (United States) — “Ndombolo Creation Story”
17. Blessing Omeiza Ojo (Nigeria) — “Monologue with God in his Bivouac”
18. Michael Okafor (Nigeria) — “Poem For The Imperialist Lion Munching On My Ivory Bone, And Other Poems”
19. Chisom Okoronkwo (United Kingdom) — “Litany of a Dying Father”
20. Obinna Okwesili (Nigeria) — “Aubade for the Living”
21. A Oladejo (Nigeria) — “TEN POEMS%!”
22. Adesiyan Oluwapelumi (Nigeria) — “The Proverbial Ram”
23. Chiwenite Onyekwelu (Nigeria) — “John the Baptist”
24. Henry Opeyemi (Nigeria) — “LITANY FOR THE BODY I KEEP”
25. Joel Oyèlékè (Nigeria) — “Manifesto of some sort & other poems”
26. Tamani Tatiana Sale (Nigeria) — “Transcedence and other poems”
27. Kevin Daniel Scheepers (South Africa) — “African Metaphysics: A Relational Ontology and Other Poems”
28. Rasheed Ayinla Shehu (Nigeria) — “Baggage of Assorted Wishes”
29. Aishat Yahkub (Nigeria) — “All the lost, wandering cities and the bleeding people that love them and other poems”
30. Salma Abdulatif Yusuf (Kenya) — “GRAINS OF PARADISE”

You can view the interactive celebratory list and learn more on our official 2026 Longlist Page.

Next Steps: Shortlist & Final Judging

From the thirty longlisted suites, a shortlist of ten (10) poets will be announced in the coming weeks. The shortlisted manuscripts will be forwarded to our inaugural guest judge, Prof. Matthew Shenoda—celebrated poet, educator, and founding editor of the African Poetry Book Series—who will select the prize winner(s).

All submissions remain strictly anonymized throughout every stage of adjudication to ensure total fairness and artistic integrity.

About The Prize

The Alhaji Arole Agarawu African Poetry Prize was established in memory of Chief Alhaji Arole Agarawu (1930s–1995), a prolific West African songwriter and composer whose lyric contributions to Yoruba music went largely uncredited during his lifetime. The prize awards:

• The Arole Agarawu African Poetry Prize: $1,000 to a poet of African descent living anywhere in the world.
• The Arole Grayling Wraith Prize: $1,000 to a poet living on the African continent, together with a production-grade poetry film produced by media partner Grayling and Wraith.

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Press Contact:
Ijeoma Ntada
Communications Lead
comms@aroleagarawufoundation.com
info@aroleagarawufoundation.com

About the Arole Agarawu Foundation

The Arole Agarawu Foundation, founded by Adedayo Agarau, is dedicated to the preservation of African cultural heritage and the elevation of literary and musical traditions. For more information, visit www.aroleagarawufoundation.com.

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