By Iminza Keboge
Published April 8, 2018
An organisation that promotes the development and publication of the poetic arts of Africa is marking five years of its existence with poetry reading and exhibit.
Known as African Poetry Book Fund (APBF), the organisation that is based at University of Nebraska in the United States of America, says its ‘cutting-edge interactive African poetry exhibit on display … allows people with smartphones to hear the voices of a range of African poets speaking to the work they do and how it fits into the broader poetic conversation.’
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The exhibit remains on display in Lincoln, with plans to put it on the road, with stops scheduled in Washington DC and the Oxford University, was preceded by poetry reading on April 4, 2018.
APBF says it ‘advances the development and publication of the poetic arts of Africa through … book series, contests, workshops, and seminars … collaborations with publishers, festivals, booking agents, colleges, universities, conferences and all other entities that share an interest in the poetic arts of Africa’.
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APBF lists the following as some of the achievements it has made in its quest of advancing the cause of African poetry over the past five years:
- Publishing of more than 33 chapbooks of African Poetry
- Bringing into the world four collected editions of works by some of the greatest contemporary African poets working today
- Publishing the debut collections of five up-and-coming African poets
- Helping to establish poetry libraries in Kenya, The Gambia, Botswana, Uganda and Ghana
- Holding first African Poetry Symposium, and
- Beginning work on a comprehensive digital portal for all things African poetry.
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