Chris Abani
Projects
Eight New-Generation African Poets
This elegant, limited-edition box set features nine chapbooks: eight volumes of poetry, plus an introduction chapbook by editors Kwame Dawes and Chris Abani. The eight African poets included are Peter Akinlabi, Viola Allo, Inua Ellams, Janet Kofi-Tsekpo, Liyou Mesfin Libsekal, Amy Lukau, Vuyelwa Maluleke, and Blessing Musariri.
The box set is an annual project of the African Poetry Book Fund, in collaboration with Akashic Books, which seeks to identify the best poetry written by African authors working today, with a special focus on those who have not yet published their first full-length book of poetry.
More at Akashic Books
The African Poetry Book Fund:
The African Poetry Book Fund promotes and advances the development and publication of the poetic arts through its book series, contests, workshops, and seminars and through its collaborations with publishers, festivals, booking agents, colleges, universities, conferences and all other entities that share an interest in the poetic arts of Africa. The Fund is committed to seeking the resources to support this mission and to ensure that all its efforts are carried out with excellence.
The Fund will, through the Series and other projects, promote the writing and publication of African poetry through an international complex of additional collaborations and partnerships. The Fund and its partners will offer support for seminars, workshops and other publishing opportunities for African poets.
”Seven New Generation African Poets: A Chapbook boxed set”
Black Goat Poetry Series
Black Goat is an independent poetry series imprint created by Chris Abani. It is affiliated with Akashic Books and is currently an imprint of that press.
The vision behind Black Goat is simple: a commitment to publishing collections of poetry that might not otherwise find a home. Selected work will represent the finest examples of well-crafted and sometimes challenging poetry, and will also focus on experimental, aesthetically or thematically challenging work. The series also aims to create a proportional representation of African and other non-American as well as female poets on its list.
The series, established in 2004, will begin by publishing two to four books of poetry over the course of two years. The series-founding editor, Chris Abani, solicits and selects manuscripts for publication in its Black Goat Poetry Series. No unsolicited manuscripts will be accepted at this time.
The press is interested both in encouraging emerging talent and in helping to maintain poets in mid-career internationally, and as such, collected or selected Bilingual Poems will also be considered. Each new poet will be introduced by a more established American writer.
