Book O'Clock Review

In this conversation between @kayodeayobamii and @michael_imossan , they discuss Imossan’s APBF chapbook “The Smell of Absence,” writing communities, and the possible outcomes of embracing writing as self-expression. “The most difficult thing to do as a writer is to strip oneself naked before the world, to lay bare one’s fears, origin, desires and aches,” Imossan reflects but goes on to say that it is in confronting the self does he “examine where the wound bleeds to put a balm on it — thus arriving at healing, empathy and beauty.” Read the full conversation here: /interrogating-the-smell-of-absence-with-michael-imossan-557c0b01fd32 (link in bio) #kuminamoja #michaelimossan #africanpoetry #interview #thesmellofabsence

For our first post this year, we are excited to share the recently published conversation between @kayodeayobamii and Leana Debra Ranko. They discuss Leano's chapbook, Little Bird Say Your Prayers—a collection she describes as “a lament and a ledger — of absence, hunger, violence, and reckoning” — her writing journey, the literary scene in southern Africa, African poetry as a whole, and the weight of representation. “This [writing], what we are doing, can never be undone“, she says, inviting fellow African writers to carry honesty in the stories they tell of themselves and of their places. This conversation is part of the Book O’Clock x APBF interview series featuring dialogues with the ten poets in the 2025 #KumiNaMoja chapbook boxset. Check out previous conversations on @booko_clock . Read this here: /little-bird-say-your-prayers-a-conversation-with-leano-debra-ranko-5ea86fac926b (link in bio). #apbf #literaryjournalism #bookoclock #africanpoetry

Nigerian poets @kayodeayobamii x @panini_500bc discuss artistic visibility, grief (its language and intersections), and Abdulkareem’s Loss Is A Door in this instalment of the Book O’Clock x African Poetry Book Fund interview series. “Grief is a damned thing; it’s like a wound from a claw that never leaves the lushness of the mind. The pain pulls you back each time,” Abdulkhareem reflects. Read the whole conversation here: /walking-through-loss-as-a-door-with-abdulkareem-abdulkareem-1ba9e72494be. (link in bio) #africanpoetry #literaryjournalism #abdulkahreemabdulkahreem #poetrycommunity #bookoclock

In this instalment of the Book O’Clock x @africanpoetrybookfund interview series, Nigerian poets @timixsanni and @kayodeayobamii discuss rejection, African poetry and Sanni's debut chapbook, The Ordinary Affair Of Being Human. “Modern African poetry, currently, is strongly represented by Nigeria, and there is a need for a wider representation that captures the full spectrum of African cultures, histories, and social realities”, Sanni argues. Read the full conversation here: /poking-the-ordinary-affair-of-being-human-a-conversation-with-timi-sanni-bc6600029315 (link in bio). #africanpoetry #literaryjournalism #timisanni #poetrycommunity #bookoclock

“I believe the voices of women are needed more in the Nigerian poetry space,” Hauwa Saleh Abubakar (@ibreathemagic_ ) advocates in our latest conversation in the Book O’Clock x APBF Interview Series. Hauwa is one of the ten African poets featured in the Kumi Na Moja @africanpoetrybookfund APBF Chapbook Box Set. Her collection, Undone is a personal and evocative exploration of grief. In this conversation led by @kayodeayobamii , she describes the writing as a purge and as well as an anchor. Read in full here: /an-undone-conversation-with-hauwa-saleh-abubabkar-2204f449646b (link in bio) #bookoclock #literaryjournalism #undone #hauwasaleh #africanpoetry #poetry #apbf #literature #chapbook

In our latest on the @bookclockreview x @africanpoetrybookfund Interview series, @KayodeAyobamii chats with @deemiearia about her chapbook, Humans for Sale, which is included in the Kumi Na Moja APBF 2025 Box Set. Humans for Sale explores the harsh realities of trafficking and the strength of survivors. Read here: /humans-for-sale-a-conversation-with-aria-deemie-59145973395f (link in bio) #africanpoetrybookfund #poetry #africanpoetry #humansforsale #literature #africanliterature #literaryjournalism #conversations

In our latest on @bookclockreview , @kayodeayobamii engages poets in the 2025 #KumiNaMoja @africanpoetrybookfund Chapbook Series. Read the first of the conversations, here, with @dynamic_rahmah . They discuss her chapbook, Ashes, the themes she explores, the writing/collation process and much more. Visit the link in bio to read. #bookoclock #literaryjournalism #poetry #ashes #africanpoetrybookfund #rahmajimoh

The African Poetry Book Fund has recently announced Nigerian poet Ameen Animashaun as the winner of the 2025 Evaristo Prize for his collection, Song. Chosen from among five finalists, Animashaun received a prize of $1,500. The judges, led by Tjawangwa Dema, describe the poems in his winning collection as “quite haunting in its illusiveness”. Just before the announcement, Ayobami Kayode engaged all five prize finalists, including Animashaun, in a rich conversation about the Evaristo Prize, their poetry journey and African poetry as a whole. Visit the link below/ in bio to read: /essays/bbaf5a02-4e75-4ce3-8a98-b7f535c1096c #AmeenAnimashaun #evaristoprize #africanpoetry #literaryjournalism

The 2025 New-Generation African Poets Chapbooks Box Set curated by the @africanpoetrybookfund features 10 African poets including Michael Imossan. The Chapbooks are slated for release this December. In our latest, Eniola Abdulroqeeb Arowolo previews The Smell of Absence, Imossan's featured collection in the box set. Visit the link in bio to read. Congratulations @michael_imossan ! #poetrycommunity #bookoclock #bookoclockreview #bookrelease #africanpoetry #africanliterature #literaryjournalism #michaelimossan #thesmellofabsence #poetrycollection #chapbook

“Uchenna Emelife, Founder and Executive Director of Book O’Clock Literary Foundation, has bagged global accolades, making the 30 Under 30 list of young leaders who are transforming literacy education and advancing equitable access to learning, curated by the International Literacy Association (ILA)...” Congratulations to our Founder and Director, @emelife_uc on this milestone! Thanks to everyone that continues to support the work we do at @booko_clock . This is dedicated to you all. Thanks to @ilatoday for the recognition. Here is to more! You can read more about the list and our Director’s nomination via the link in bio. #30under30 #ila30under30 #literacy #literacydevelopment #literacymatters #literacyeducation #bookoclock #everytimeisbookoclock

"In Glory to the Sky — described as 'short personal essays on photography' — Terver examines our ways of seeing, celebrates the beauty of the accidental and coincident, and discusses man’s propensity for wastefulness. This kind of writing follows the tradition of writers like Emmanuel Iduma and Teju Cole, in investigating life through photography..." In our latest feature on @bookclockreview , we discuss Carl Terver's new book, Glory to the Sky, which is out this August and can be preordered now. Visit link below to find out more about the book: /carl-tervers-photobook-glory-to-the-sky-follows-in-footsteps-of-teju-cole-out-this-august-c419f0451767 (link in bio). #bookreview #bookoclockreview #literaryjournalism #africanliterature #review #booknews #bookrelease

"In a society barred by anomalies of all sorts, we are troubled by the uncertainty the future holds not just for us, but also our progenies. It is not a new thing the crisis ravaging our society, some of which are political, and social delinquencies. In a time like this, poets become the voice of those whose voices have been gagged by the precariousness of those in power, and those whom the judicial system has failed. Here, Tolu A. Akinyemi’s A Booktiful Love is a sweet lamentation of well-written poems that takes you on a journey of self-questioning and reflection on societal ills; from the shenanigans of corrupt governments to the dereliction of matrimonial servitude. We are fed with a different type of grief. But unlike the glorified and rampant confessional poetry—that spells one’s grief—Tolu brings something fresh and timely that challenges the status quo..." Excerpts from @iliya_kambai 's review of A Booktiful Love by @tolutoludo . Read in full by visiting the link here: /a-booktiful-love-a-calligraphy-of-social-consciousness-6f9f5c04abbd (link in bio). #bookreview #bookoclockreview #bookoclock #bookstagram #abooktiful #toluaakinyemi #poetry #africanliterature #africanpoetry