Popular African Poetry Books
Find poetry books written by authors from Africa for the next part of the Read Around The World Challenge. (34)
1.
A Basket of Flaming Ashes by Joyce B. Ashuntantang EN
CameroonDescription:
Ashuntantang is an extraordinary weaver of words who showcases vivid pictures that compete with 3D simulation. Her greatest asset is her use of the beautiful traditional Cameroonian anchor that evokes folk tales with its moonlight romance and glory. You feel, laugh, weep, shiver, wonder, and hail the triumphant spirit of the persona as it navigates African postcolonial and global experiences with the melancholy of an exile who is purposeful, strategic, and a lot of fun.
2.
A Blood Condition by Kayo Chingonyi EN
ZambiaDescription:
A Blood Condition tells a story of inheritance - the people, places, cultures and memories that form us. Kayo Chingonyi explores how distance and time, nations and a century's history, can collapse within a body; our past continuous in our present. From London, Leeds, and The North East to the banks of the Zambezi river, these poems consider change and permanence, grief and joy, the painful ongoing process of letting go, with remarkable music and clarity.
3.
As Long As Trees Take Root in the Earth : And Other Poems by Alain Mabanckou EN
Country: Africa / 
Congo, Democratic Republic of
Congo, Democratic Republic of
Description:
A hopeful, music-infused poetry collection from Congolese poet Alain Mabanckou. These compelling poems by novelist and essayist Alain Mabanckou conjure nostalgia for an African childhood where the fauna, flora, sounds, and smells evoke snapshots of a life forever gone. Mabanckou's poetry is frank and forthright, urging his compatriots to no longer be held hostage by the civil wars and political upheavals that have ravaged their country and to embrace a new era of self-determination where the village roosters can sing again. These music-infused texts, beautifully translated by Nancy Naomi Carls... continue
4.
Aussicht auf eigene Schatten by Chirikure Chirikure DE
ZimbabweDescription:
Dreisprachige Ausgabe: Shona - Englisch - Deutsch
5.
Eritrea6.
Bless the Daughter Raised by a Voice in Her Head : Poems by Warsan Shire EN
KenyaDescription:
Poems of migration, womanhood, trauma, and resilience from the celebrated collaborator on Beyoncé’s Lemonade and Black Is King, award-winning Somali British poet Warsan Shire “The beautifully crafted poems in this collection are fiercely tender gifts.”—Roxane Gay, author of Bad Feminist “Shire is the real thing—fresh, cutting, indisputably alive.”—Dwight Garner, The New York Times Mama, I made it / out of your home / alive, raised by / the voices / in my head. With her first full-length poetry collection, Warsan Shire introduces us to a young girl, who, in the absence of a nurturing guide, mak... continue
7.
Broken Halves of a Milky Sun : Poems by Aaiún Nin EN
AngolaDescription:
With the emotional undertow of Ocean Vuong and the astute political observations of Natalie Diaz, a powerful poetry debut exploring the effects of racism, war and colonialism, queer love and desire. In their breathtaking international debut, Aaiún Nin plumbs the depths of the lived and enduring effects of colonialism in their native country, Angola. In these pages, Nin untangles complexities of exile, the reckoning of familial love, but also reveals the power of queer love and desire through the body that yearns to love and be loved. Nin shows the ways in which faith and devotion serve as form... continue
8.
Collection of Poems by Samuella J Conteh EN
Country: Africa / 
Sierra Leone
Sierra Leone
Description:
Love Colours is a collection of poems mostly submitted for poetry contests on given themes and different poetry forms. Many of the poems featured in the collection are winning poems that have been featured in anthologies which are currently available on Amazon. Some of the anthologies that feature my poems from these contests are as follows: Eternally, Stairway to Heaven, Modern Poets, Sending Love to Mom, Bowl of Peace, Amazing Minds and Reminiscing Summer. Love Colours which is my first collection, was borne out of a desire to bring my scattered pieces under one collection.
9.
Collective Amnesia by Putuma, Koleka EN
Country: Africa / 
South Africa
South Africa
Description:
This highly-anticipated debut collection from one of the country's most acclaimed young voices marks a massive shift in South African poetry. Kola Putuma's exploration of blackness, womxnhood and history in Collective Amnesia is fearless and unwavering. Her incendiary poems demand justice, insist on visibility and offer healing. In them, Putuma explodes the idea of authority in various spaces ñ academia, religion, politics, relationships ñ to ask what has been learnt and what must be unlearnt. Through grief and memory, pain and joy, sex and self-care, Collective Amnesia is a powerful appraisal... continue
10.
Dolorosa Raiz De Micondo by Conceição Lima PT
Country: Africa / 
Sao Tome and Principe
Sao Tome and Principe
Description:
Nesta coletânea de 27, o micondó, árvore considerada sagrada em regiões da África, simboliza origem, casa, morada ancestral. A evocação de tais raízes é dolorosa devido a acontecimentos históricos, como a escravidão e a colonização, que imprimiram feridas e rupturas na identidade nacional, e na própria poetisa, cujos antepassados foram trazidos à força para o arquipélago africano e mais tarde enviados para outras terras como escravos. Embora a dor seja uma constante em seus versos, o sentimento que os perpassa é o da sutil esperança de que a mesma memória que resgata os fatos traumáticos ajude... continue