Utamu wa Lugha – Zuhura Seng’enge
Utamu wa Lugha Zuhura Seng'enge 27 August 2026Nimeujua utamu, kamwe sitaki ukosa,Na huzidi hio tamu, ulimi unaponesa,Huwa unaleta hamu, nyoyo kuzitikisa. Ukikugusa kinywani, hauishi asilani,Hautoacha tamani, ladha yake mdomoni,Kwa nafsi ni burudani, huwa ni yenye...
Sonara – Abdul Malik
Sonara Abdul Malik 27 August 2026Ewe kiti nipe raha, nipe raha nitulie Usije nipa jeraha, likafanya niumie'Mepambika kwa madaha, utanifanya nilie Sonara sonara sana, nichukue kiti changu We Sonara kamilisha, mimi nataka kukaa Na kama hakijaisha, katu kae sitakaa Ila...
Parfum de passage – Muda Maxana
Parfum de passage Muda Maxana 22 July 2026Super-Lemba. I C'est pas un quartier, c'est un carrefour. Un endroit où on ne reste pas, où on passe. Les motos te frôlent l'épaule, klaxonnent pour rien, pour tout, pour te dire « Je suis là, dégage ou crève ». Les pneus...
Come Come, Let’s Go Cycling in the Woods – Afọpẹ́fólúwa Òjó
Come Come, Let’s Go Cycling in the Woods Afọpẹ́fólúwa Òjó 25 May 2026We speed downhill past the wild thorns, pass the vestingbar, go beyond the witbreuksweg into the woods, past the thick bushets and olive groves that constantly seek out each other, grow together. An...
Livraison le même jour – Nathan Abeta
Livraison le même jour Nathan Abeta 25 May 2026Le soleil n’avait pas encore séché la rosée sur les toits de tôle ondulée de Yopougon Maroc qu’Abou était déjà pris au piège. L’air était épais des odeurs mêlées du réveil du quartier : le puissant relent des ordures du...
My Country Describes Itself to Me & Other Poems – Jide Salawu
My Country Describes Itself to Me & Other Poems Jide Salawu 25 May 2026Sea Stories I have no stomach to keep sea stories.Ten thousand boys are crossingthe black Atlantic without life jackets.In Thiaroye-sur-Mer, hundreds are wadingthrough the butane eye of the...
Our Histories Do Not Make Us Who We Are & Other Poems – Emmanuel Sanusi
Our Histories Do Not Make Us Who We Are & Other Poems Emmanuel Sanusi 24 April 2026Our Histories Do Not Make Us Who We Are Fractured bones buried under the silt of dust,Our names, long forgotten by mouthsThat named us, mouths filled with light,Heavy with glory,...
Confined Hour – Olaseni Kehinde Precious
Confined Hour Olaseni Kehinde Precious 24 April 2026CHARACTERSFolarin – Philosophy lecturer in his late fortiesSunday – Mid twenties undergraduate SETTINGA cramped university office SCENE The curtains all stay down, and the fluorescent flickers occasionally. Just...
Autopsie d’un pays encore vivant – Richard Stanley Philius
Autopsie d’un pays encore vivant Richard Stanley Philius 24 April 2026À tous ceux qui, un jour, ont connu la peur Cette sombre nuit torrentielle où il pleut à grosses gouttes, on dirait que la pluie bat de plein fouet la capitale. Les familles, barricadées derrière...
Editors’ Recommendations
A Very Brief History of Extraction – Siphiwe Gloria Ndlovu
A Very Brief History of Extraction Siphiwe Gloria Ndlovu 26 January 2026Part I Koh… Koh… Koh… The Man is 24 years old when he has his first tooth extraction. The dentist – a Doctor Watson, but that is elementary – uses the tools of his trade: a gum lancet loosens the...
The Giver of Nicknames – Rémy Ngamije
The Giver of Nicknames Rémy Ngamije 16 May 2020Prelude. When we were clowns, children, and things – before we sprouted personalities, individual hopes, and collective guilt; before we reconciled all aspects of our conflicting beings – there were four Donovans at our...
The Couch – Zanta Nkumane
The Couch Zanta Nkumane 16 May 2020IThe couch is a living thing – did you know? That’s why I can’t take it with me. I can take the fridge because it’s not a living thing. It breathes cold air. I can take the cutlery or maybe the washing machine for practicality and to...
Readers’ Favourites
And the Dead Were Lonely – Kabelo S. Motsoeneng
And the Dead Were Lonely Kabelo S. Motsoeneng 22 December 2020There were riots outside the Immigration and Customs Enforcement office at 450 Main Street on the hot summer day Hopewell’s body was found. He lived on the third floor of an apartment building made of...
Our Girl, Bimpe – Olakunle Ologunro
Our Girl, Bimpe Olakunle Ologunro 27 July 20201. In 2017, Bimpe Adedeji created another Facebook account. The reasons for this are numerous, but to sum it up in one point, she had become mature. The first time she created a Facebook account was in 2013, the year...
Dear Moon, I Am the Colour of Water – Alain Jules Hirwa
Dear Moon, I Am the Colour of Water Alain Jules Hirwa 22 June 2020 Note: The names of most people and places mentioned in this essay are fictitiousPART I: MY PASTWe were looking for more faith than what we had for we wanted to become priests, and sometime later,...