Great African Reads discussion

Hi! My name is Irene. I love poetry and I would like to read some African poetry, do you have any suggestion?

Hi Irene, I’ve found the New-Generation African Poets box sets to be really helpful. Each includes chapbooks from eight to ten different poets, so I can read them and then look for other work by (or follow) the poets whose work move me. For some reason, they aren’t listed as a series on Goodreads, but they have a common editor, Kwame Dawes, so you can search down his (long) list of publications for titles that start ‘New-Generation…’: https://www.goodreads.com/author/list...

Thanks for asking this and I’m looking forward to seeing what others suggest.

Oh that is too bad the box sets are not linked together on GR as part of a series. But thanks for sharing- sounds like a very cool thing.

I know Warsan Shire, originally of Somalia is widely loved. She is a young contemporary. I loved her collection Bless the Daughter Raised by a Voice in Her Head: Poems, which addresses, among other themes, life in England. So, just to say, it is not strictly African life. I'm looking forward to reading her other collection Teaching My Mother How to Give Birth soon.

I heard good things about Chinua Achebe's Collected Poems. He is best known for his novels but I'd be curious to read his poetry as well since he is generally such a beloved writer.
Another classic Nigerian author who has written in many formats, including poetry, is Wole Soyinka.

Irene wrote: "Hi! My name is Irene. I love poetry and I would like to read some African poetry, do you have any suggestion?"

I came up with a list of African poetry a couple of years ago here on GR:
https://www.goodreads.com/list/show/1...

Maybe that helps :)