Tovia Inokoba 1/18/25 Tovia Inokoba 1/18/25

Returning to Self: The Year My House Became a Home

Michael Barrington 12/26/24 Michael Barrington 12/26/24

Nigerian Writers: A Treasure Trove of Riches

While earlier writers used themes of culture and tradition, the more contemporary Nigerian literature has expanded impressively and now draws from the realities of the country’s social processes, from women’s rights and feminism to post-war and post-colonial identity.

Karen Frederick 12/17/24 Karen Frederick 12/17/24

Roosevelt 1950

I went to my Grandma Mamie’s every summer, sometimes even during the year, but this was the first time Roosevelt had visited me.

Adut Loi Akok 12/7/24 Adut Loi Akok 12/7/24

Portraits [Audio]

A woman leaned her back on a broken wall/ her face a deep secret in her hijab

Mayowa Fagbure 12/7/24 Mayowa Fagbure 12/7/24

My Crown

The connection between my identity as a Black woman and my relationship with my hair goes deep. It means acknowledging the history of my hair and why perms and wigs even exist as hair styling options.

Fejiro Okifo 10/12/24 Fejiro Okifo 10/12/24

Soft Life

That was the first time she learned that she had to set herself on fire to make other people happy.

Ubong Johnson 9/28/24 Ubong Johnson 9/28/24

Something, Anything

Bottles of beer to their mouths, they all anxiously wait for him to at least say something, acknowledging that it is best to let a man crawl out of his shell on his own.

Candace Arthuria-Williams 8/31/24 Candace Arthuria-Williams 8/31/24

Nelly

The burden of loving this baby weighed him down like the chains that had shackled his forebears. And hers.

Raymond Favour 7/27/24 Raymond Favour 7/27/24

Elegy for boys who never returned

I’ve watched mothers / Break into rivers / Before their children’s / Sprawled bodies.

Suchet Baba 7/20/24 Suchet Baba 7/20/24

Ungodly

It was too late. We had tasted sin and seen that the repercussions were unclear and improbable.

Mustapha Enesi 7/7/24 Mustapha Enesi 7/7/24

A Caricature of Something Forgotten

Then I heard blog posts made money for writers. Like every click they got converted to money, like Linda Ikeji's blog. “When Google Ads enter your blog like this, you will blow.” So I tried blogging. I didn’t blow.

Davina Kawuma 6/22/24 Davina Kawuma 6/22/24

Parable

Are you a bot?

Chisom Nsiegbunam 6/1/24 Chisom Nsiegbunam 6/1/24

The Bill

It is one of those mornings when you wake up with your troubles staring you in the eye.

Sa'id Sa'ad 5/25/24 Sa'id Sa'ad 5/25/24

How To Live in Nigeria

Ignore the temptation to acknowledge that as you grow older, the country’s thorns grow younger. Live like a bird. Do not think of the future.

Abigail George 5/8/24 Abigail George 5/8/24

When ephemera glows in the cemetery like seawater on a hot day

Once my life was brilliant with you in it

Chinelo Synclaire Enyinnaya 4/6/24 Chinelo Synclaire Enyinnaya 4/6/24

Dear Levi

Dear Levi,

Four weeks ago, I buried my bracelet, my ring, and my baby.

Khadija Ceesay 12/31/23 Khadija Ceesay 12/31/23

Desert Story

When the sun came back/ I was a full tree/with all the room in the desert to grow,

Khadija Ceesay 12/31/23 Khadija Ceesay 12/31/23

Predominantly Wild Imagination

I hope when they take my picture/I am filtered with bright exposure

Banabas Karuma 12/26/23 Banabas Karuma 12/26/23

Singular Affections

The sun shone brightly as if the ancestors themselves smiled upon the day.

Ulysses Hill 12/25/23 Ulysses Hill 12/25/23

Modern Messiah

Stigmata on his hands/ a needle in his vein