The African Poetry Book Fund, in conjunction with Prairie Schooner, the literary journal published by the University of Nebraska, has announced that amu nnadi is the inaugural winner of the Glenna Luschei Prize for African Poetry. The pan-African poetry prize honors books of African poetry written in English or translated into English. The prize is sponsored by poet ud philanthropist, Glenna Luschei, who was educated at the University of Nebraska and the Iowa Writers’ Workshop.
Nnadi was honored for his collection through the window of a sandcastle (Lagos, Nigeria: Parresia Publishers). The judge of the competition, award-winning poet and novelist Chris Abani, stated that “in reading through the window of a sandcastle, we come face to face with a truly original voice that creates new metaphors, new spaces of being, and new cartographies of the African soul.”
Kwame Dawes, director of the African Poetry Book Fund, said, “One never knows what will emerge with these contests, so it is extremely exciting to see this remarkable book by amu nnadi as the inaugural winner of the Glenna Luschei African Book Prize. Our hope is that the prize will, in some small way, draw greater attention to a writer and a book that deserves to be read by lovers of poetry the world over.”
