Itanile is a literary brand that provides a platform for African writers to publish stories they want to tell about the African experience. We are committed to developing new audiences for African literature. We provide a storytelling platform that connects African writers with their readers
We’ve hosted and led impact-driven creative and literary projects through collaborative effort. Our global community is always growing to reach more and do more.
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By dawn, a few of Tez’ Mu’s assumptions had been proven correct, earning him his escorts’ begrudging respect. Merchants using the Mirin route were now being allowed into the city, though the Keolyor had doubled security. That was an opportunity, one he intended to use.
Poetry, in many instances, resists the desire to be confined to a single definition. Ask a magazine editor, a poet, and a critic what poetry is, and their responses will differ—despite their frequent intimacy with the form. One might argue that a poem is meant to be experienced, not defined. Yet often, the reader encountering a work of poetry seeks both experience and comprehension. They don’t just want to feel the poem; they want to understand it—to walk away satisfied with that experience because they “have a rational understanding of that experience,” as Yvor Winters put it.
He was aged 4 when his opponent in today's Presidential election assumed power. Today, he's 38 and has seen a humongous history of hell in high definition since he decided to stand for a new Uganda by standing against a perennial despot. Museveni, his opponent today,...
Itanile is delighted to announce the shortlist for the Dec 2020 edition of the Collins Elesiro Prize for Literature. The shortlist, made up of eight sterling entries, was selected from a longlist of twenty by our judges: Henneh Kweku and Seun-Lari Williams. The...
This note comes in a two-part effort to share what 2020 has been for us as an African literary platform. It includes highlights of most of what we consider to be commendable about the space we occupy. Looking through the year, we have come a long way with our...
CFWriterz is pleased to announce the longlist for the December 2020 Collins Elesiro Literary Prize. The list of twenty (20) writers contains prose and poetry entries. Submissions explored a variety of themes, and in a year that has witnessed not a few disruptions, our...
Brother Replies(Submission after liberation, 1994)Dear SiphoThy fret paper silk in ink has arrivedSealed in the khaki envelope,And your words roused my almost forgotten memories.We are jolly happy to know that you are alive brother,Longing to eye you heading back home...
It is not the absence of military interventions that we have restored, which will bring back our democracy, development, justice, and freedom. What is needed is the ability to empower the people and the integrity of leadership. Leadership should not be used to...
I was born five years after the death of James Baldwin. My father, Dr. Tanko Benson, a university don, had worshipped James to the point of idolatry. He taught James Baldwin’s essays, poems, and novels to his students, and made references to the man’s statements at...
He knew!Yusuf tried his best to avert the commander's eyes. At only 14 he had signed up with commander's troops pledging his life and loyalty to fighting their cause. Allahu akbar. People might argue that Allah had nothing to do with it, they may say revenge- revenge...
The sunny afternoon revealed the faces of sunburnt women walking along the coast of Kisumu. Some were fisherwomen, while some were traders who sold fishes they bought from the fisherwomen. Mueni watched the manner in which the women walked down the sea; they wore...
body upon body relief runs in our veins& we make heaven up within our heads in this dimlit room, my body carries the weight of light as darkness s l o w l y...closes upon me & everywhere becomes as distant as the next country I have always dreamt of oblivion...
