Garlands for the Dream-Seeker: Femi Osofisan @80 Poetry Call
Call for Submissions | Poetry Anthology | Deadline: March 20, 2026
In June 2026, the literary world will rise in a rare chorus of praise to celebrate one of Africa’s most luminous minds — Emeritus Professor Femi Osofisan, also known by his poetic pseudonym Okinba Launko, as he marks 80 extraordinary years of life, creativity, and cultural service.
To honor this milestone, poets from Nigeria, Africa, and across the world are invited to participate in a landmark poetry anthology titled:
Garlands for the Dream-Seeker
This volume will be a rich poetic tribute to a man whose voice has shaped African literature, theatre, scholarship, and cultural consciousness for more than five decades.
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Why Femi Osofisan Matters
Femi Osofisan is not merely a writer — he is an institution. A globally respected and award-winning playwright, poet, novelist, scholar, critic, biographer, translator, cultural theorist, director, composer, journalist, and activist, Osofisan stands among the most prolific and influential literary figures Africa has produced.
According to renowned historian and cultural scholar Toyin Falola in In Praise of Greatness: The Poetics of African Adulation (2019):
“With over fifty plays, four works of fiction, four collections of poetry, and two books for junior readers already published, Femi Osofisan has emerged as one of the most prolific contemporary African writers… His imagination, vision and craft distinguish him as a creative writer of the very first rank and one of the few literary scholars yet to come out of Africa… In his home country of Nigeria, he is arguably the most performed playwright with audiences of all different levels enjoying the tour de force of his dramatic compositions.”
Beyond the written page, Osofisan’s influence extends deeply into cultural leadership and artistic institution-building. He is the founder of Kakaunsela Kompany (1979), a founding member and former President of the Association of Nigerian Authors (ANA), a Vice President of the Pan-African Writers’ Association (PAWA), former General Manager of the National Theatre, Lagos, and a recipient of the Nigeria National Merit Award in Humanities (2006).
In 2016, he became the first African to win the prestigious Thalia Prize awarded by the International Association of Theatre Critics.
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A Special Focus on His Poetry
While Femi Osofisan is widely celebrated for his theatre, this anthology turns a special spotlight on his poetry, published under the name Okinba Launko — a body of work that is deeply lyrical, philosophical, culturally grounded, and spiritually resonant.
His poetry collections include:
Minted Coins (1987)
Dream-Seeker on Divining Chain (1993)
Commemorations (Ire Ni Temi): Poems for Performance (2007)
Seven Stations Up the Tray’s Way (2013)
Remember Tenderness: New and Selected Poems – Vol. 1 (2023)
The Jewellers of Night: New and Selected Poems – Vol. 2 (2023)
He also edited Mingled Coins: Seventy Love Poems (2020), an important anthology of Nigerian poetry.
This upcoming volume, Garlands for the Dream-Seeker, aims to respond creatively to his poetic legacy using the same cultural depth, mythic resonance, and orature-inspired power that characterizes his work.
What Kind of Poems Are Wanted?
The editors invite poems that are inspired by:
Osofisan / Okinba Launko the man
The writer
His myths, visions, and influence
African imagination and world cultures
Art, memory, legacy, and creative devotion
Submissions are especially encouraged that draw from African orature and global cultural traditions, including poetic styles that are:
Oracular
Incantatory
Ritualistic
Panegyric
Song-like
Narrative
Mythic
Performative
Your poem can be in any form or length, as long as it carries a tinge of orature and a strong artistic voice.
Writing Competition
Submission Guidelines
Poets wishing to be part of this historic anthology should submit:
One or more poems
A brief poet biodata (maximum 100 words)
As a Microsoft Word (MS Word) attachment
Send all entries to:
🗓 Deadline: March 20, 2026
Editors
This anthology is being curated by two distinguished literary figures:
Denja Abdullahi, FANA, NPOM
Former President, Association of Nigerian Authors (ANA)
Centre for Creative Writing, Yakubu Gowon University (formerly University of Abuja)
Ezekiel Fajenyo
Poet, Literary Biographer & Critic
A Once-in-a-Generation Literary Moment
Garlands for the Dream-Seeker is not just a book — it is a collective poetic monument to one of Africa’s greatest cultural visionaries.
If you are a poet who believes in the power of language, myth, memory, and the living spirit of African and world traditions, this is your moment to be part of history.
Raise your voice.
Craft your verse.
Weave your garland.
Let the dream-seeker be celebrated in poetry. 🌿📖
📣 Spread the Word
Don’t keep this opportunity to yourself.
Tag a writer, share with friends, and let others know.
Your story could be the one that inspires a new beginning—for you and for someone else.
Write. Inspire. Win.
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