Acclaimed Nigerian poet Saddiq M Dzukogi has revealed the cover and preorder link for his much-anticipated new book, Bakandamiya: An Elegy, set for release on December 1st, 2025, from the University of Nebraska Press.
In an emotionally resonant announcement on social media, Dzukogi shared a glimpse into the poetic soul of the work—and the journey behind it.
“A few weeks ago I said there was something beautiful in my mailbox,” he wrote. “Here, the cover of my next book Bakandamiya: An Elegy.”
Described by celebrated poet Ilya Kaminsky as “a timeless meditation,” Bakandamiya is already drawing high praise.
The book is deeply personal and ambitious in scope—structured in three parts and narrated in part by an animist spirit. Dzukogi calls it “part autobiographical, part song, and part prayers,” intertwining personal memory with ancestral myth and spiritual reflection.
The poet recalls a pivotal moment five years ago when his editor Kwame Dawes asked him why no African poet had produced an epic in the technical tradition since Okot p’Bitek. Dzukogi’s response was clear: I will do it. The result, according to him, is a “dangerous but immensely rewarding sport.”
This poetic collection weaves together the voices of literary and cultural figures across time and geography.
“Here is myth-making,” Dzukogi writes. “There is Dante here wrestling with the wisdom of Ba’aba my grandmother. Eliot and a Bori spirit. Gibran and Mamman Shata. Barmani Choge and Nietzsche. And the instruction from Derek [Walcott].”
Bakandamiya: An Elegy is a literary fusion of the sacred and the secular, memory and myth, with echoes of Nana Asma’u, Bayajidda, and other storied legacies of Northern Nigeria.
With cover art by the brilliant Wole Oyeyemi, the book promises not only lyrical depth but visual richness.
Preorders are now live via the University of Nebraska Press. Dedicated to Kwame Dawes, Bakandamiya looks poised to become a landmark in contemporary African poetry.
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