Njoku Nonso
“First Light”
Njoku Nonso is a Nigerian Igbo-born poet, essayist, fiction writer, and medical student who lives and writes from Ojoto, in tribute to the spirit of Christopher Okigbo. His work explores selfhood as a unit of language, blackness, familyhood, dreamscapes, and otherness. He is the winner of the 2022 Boston Review Annual Poetry Contest (selected by Donika Kelly) and the 2024 New Writers Poetry Competition UK. His work has appeared in Boston Review, Poet Lore, Arkansas International, Chestnut Review, Palette Poetry, and elsewhere.
Njoku Nonso is a Nigerian Igbo-born poet, essayist, fiction writer, and medical student who lives and writes from Ojoto, in tribute to the spirit of Christopher Okigbo. His work explores selfhood as a unit of language, blackness, familyhood, dreamscapes, and otherness.
His victory in the 2022 Boston Review Annual Poetry Contest, selected by Donika Kelly, established him as a major emerging voice in contemporary poetry. He followed this with the 2024 New Writers Poetry Competition UK win, further cementing his international reputation.
His publications span prestigious venues including Boston Review, Poet Lore, Arkansas International, Chestnut Review, The Shore, Palette Poetry, Brittle Paper, and the anthology Momento: An Anthology of Contemporary Nigerian Poetry. His work as an inaugural Unserious Collective Fellow marked the beginning of the fellowship's legacy of identifying exceptional talent.
Njoku Nonso's poetry explores selfhood as a unit of language, navigating blackness, familyhood, dreamscapes, and otherness from his home in Ojoto. As an inaugural fellow, his work helped define the standard of excellence that the Unserious Collective Fellowship represents.
- 2022 Unserious Collective Fellow (Inaugural)
- Winner, 2022 Boston Review Annual Poetry Contest
- Winner, 2024 New Writers Poetry Competition UK
- Emeka Anuforo Prize for Best Literary Artiste of the Year
- Shortlisted, 2023 Akachi Chukwuemeka Prize for Literature
- Pushcart Prize Nominee
- Boston Review Publication
- Poet Lore Publication
- Arkansas International Publication
- Boston Review
- Poet Lore
- Arkansas International
- Chestnut Review
- The Shore
- Palette Poetry
- Brittle Paper
- Agbowo
- Bodega Magazine
- Kissing Dynamite
Continuing his medical studies while developing his literary career from Ojoto, exploring selfhood, blackness, and the Igbo literary tradition
Timi Sanni
“Fragments of Memory”Multidisciplinary artist and multiple poetry contest winner.
Chiwenite Onyekwelu
“Urban Psalms”Jack Grapes Poetry Prize winner with lighthearted sensibility.
Samuel A. Adeyemi
“River Songs”New-Generation African Poets selection by Kwame Dawes and Chris Abani.
Adesiyan Oluwapelumi
“Mouthful with Cinders”Medical student and poet. APBF New-Generation African Poets selection.