Othuke Umukoro Wins Brunel International African Poetry Prize 2021

The judges for the $3,000 prize praised the Nigerian as “a complex poet, with the formal skills to match the weight of the subjects he takes on.”
Othuke Umukoro. From Brunel Prize.

Othuke Umukoro. From Brunel Prize.

Othuke Umukoro Wins Brunel International African Poetry Prize 2021

The Nigerian poet Othuke Umukoro has been named winner of the $3,000 Brunel International African Poetry Prize 2021. He was chosen from a shortlist of eight poets, including Gambia’s Kweku Abimbola, Uganda’s Arao Ameny, South Africa’s Isabelle Baafi, Somalia’s Asmaa Jama, Lesotho’s Tumello Motabola, and Nigeria’s Oluwadare Popoola and Yomi Sode.

Founded by Booker Prize winner Bernadine Evaristo in 2012, and sponsored by Brunel University London, the Brunel Prize is aimed at “the development, celebration and promotion of poetry from Africa.” Open to poets who have not published a full-length poetry collection, past winners and shortlisters have gone on to make their mark in the literary industry.

The panel of three judges—Karen McCarthy Woolf, the chair; Rustum Kozain; and Makhosazana Xaba—had this to say about Umukoro’s winning poems:

The language is lush, mesmeric at times and the balance between lyric and narrative deftly handled. A complex poet, with the formal skills to match the weight of the subjects he takes on, whether it’s sexuality and the family dynamic, HIV, or nature, ecology and politics.

Also a playwright and educator, Othuke Umukoro graduated from the University of Ibadan. His poems engage with “the language of quietness, the geography of memory, home, depression, hope, loss & occasionally the ‘other’ that hovers around traditional father-son relationships.”

In “Debris,” the persona, who is HIV positive, claims: “My father isn’t talking to me.” Close to the end of the poem, the persona laments: “I can’t tell you if my father will ever/ come around to love me again.”

In the other poems—which engage with memory, war, home, and suicide—the father figure appears, as well as other family members: mother and brother. This familial vibe is what throbs in Umukoro’s writing.

On Twitter, Umukoro wrote: “I dedicate this award to my beautiful mother, an immortal light on my path. Thank you, Jesus!”

Past winners of the Brunel Prize are the British Somali Warsan Shire in 2013; the Ethiopian Liyou Libsekal in 2014; the Sudanese-American Safia Elhillo and the Ugandan Nick Makoha in 2015; the Nigerians Gbenga Adesina and Chekwube O. Danladi in 2016; the Nigerian Romeo Oriogun in 2017; the Ethiopian-American Hiwot Adilow, the British Nigerian Theresa Lola, and the Somali British Momtaza Mehri in 2018; the Egyptian Nadra Mabrouk and the Somali Jamila Osman in 2019; and the Egyptian Rabha Ashry in 2020.

Read Othuke Umukoro’s work here.

...

One Response

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Recommendation

Chidi Mokeme and Nse Ikpe-Etim were snubbed in a near shut-out of Netflix series Shanty Town, with Tobi Bakre scooping a shock Best Drama Actor victory as Brotherhood swept its categories. Perennial Best Comedy Actress champ Funke Akindele also lost for the first time in five years while Anikulapo won Best Overall Movie.
Nearly All the Men in Lagos Are Mad, the actress’ debut collection of stories, sold over 2,200 copies, assuring it the No. 1 spot on The Rovingheights Bestseller List: Presented with Open Country Mag. So why do these stories of failing romance connect so widely?
Alhaji Waziri Oshomah fused Highlife, local folk styles, and Western pop into songs of positivity in Auchi, Nigeria. When New York label Luaka Bop released The Muslim Highlife of Alhaji Waziri Oshomah in its World Spirituality Classics series last year, we spoke to musician and label about his artistry.

“An ambitious new magazine that is committed to African literature"

- Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

Get the essential stories in African literature + Nigerian film and TV: in-depth, thought-provoking Profiles, features, reviews, and conversations, as well as news on events and opportunities.

We respect your privacy and will never send you Spam or sell your email.

Top