Pius Adesanmi: 257 poems submitted for memorial anthology

The Editors of a proposed anthology in memory of celebrated scholar and writer, Pius Adesanmi, have said that they received 257 entries from different parts of the world.
The anthology titled ‘Wreaths for a Wayfarer’will be published in the last quarter of the year by Daraja Press (Canada) and Narrative Landscape Press (Nigeria) respectively.
According to the editors – Nduka Otiono &UchechukwuUmezurike – the poems came from within and outside Africa.
They note in a statement, “The submissions by established and budding poets came from Nigeria, Ghana, Kenya, Zambia, Malawi, Tanzania, Uganda, Ethiopia, and South Africa. From outside of Africa, poets from Canada, Italy, The Netherlands, Sri Lanka, India, United Kingdom, etc., also submitted towards the anthology. Interestingly, a 10-year old Nigerian-Canadian boy joined the league of poets who submitted poems for consideration for the anthology.”
While thanking everyone who submitted their poems for consideration for publication in the anthology, the editors expressed delight at the number, diversity, and quality of the submissions.
“These highly competitive submissions,” stated the editors, “represent the transnational connections of Professor Adesanmi’s life and work.” The editors also revealed that a leading Nigerian artist, Victor Ehikhamenor, as well as a notable graphic artist and former Art Director at ThisDay newspaper and ‘Arise Networks’

, Ochi Ogbuaku, are already working on the cover design of the anthology.”
Meanwhile, the large number of submissions for the anthology are already being evaluated in line with the guidelines provided in the call for poems. The Editors have assured that all submissions received poems will be fairly assessed irrespective of the reputation of the poets. Final decisions on submissions will be communicated to all who submitted by the end of May, whether successful or not.