Return to Top of Page
African Poetry Book Fund
Menu
  • Close
  • Contests
  • Books
  • Authors
  • Artists
  • Libraries
  • Portal
  • Blog
  • Publish with APBF
  • About APBF
  • Support Our Mission
  • African Poetry Digital Portal

APBF: Poetry Libraries-Africa

Moroka Moreri wears fur and patterned clothes, performing poetry in a room full of books
Setswana language poet Moroka Moreri. African Poetry Library-Botswana. 2014.

The African Poetry Library Initiative

The African Poetry Library Initiative is a collaboration establishing small, user friendly poetry reading libraries on the African continent to support aspiring and established poets through access to contemporary poetry in books and journals and to serve as a resource for poets interested in publication in Africa and around the world.

This initiative, guided by APBF and the University of Nebraska-Lincoln Libraries brings together US and UK publishers of poetry, literary arts organizations, poets, libraries, and literary journals in collaboration with African libraries, writers co-ops or cultural centers, and poets.

Our Partners

The library collections comprise donations from publishers, presses, foundations, and individuals. Many of the books that don’t come directly from publishers come from the “review copies” stacks of partnering literary journals across the United States.

APBF recognizes the following individuals and organizations for their support in the establishment of the libraries: Ahsahta Press, Anhinga Press, Alicia Ostriker, Aquarius Press/Willow Books, Black Warrior Review, BOA Editions, Chicago University Press, Coffee House Press, Copper Canyon Press, Crazyhorse, Kwame Dawes, Front Porch Journal, Great Lakes Colleges Association, Gulf Coast, Grandma Moses Press, Harvard Review, Hunger Mountain, Indiana Review, Iowa Review, Kenyon Review, Ted Kooser, Milkweed Editions, Missouri Review, National Poetry Foundation, New Orleans Review, Northwestern University Press, Obsidian: Literature & Arts in the African Diaspora, Parnassus, Peepal Tree Press, Ploughshares, the Poets House, Poet Lore, Potomac Review, Prairie Schooner, Slash Pine, Truman University Press, University of Nebraska Press, Ugly Ducking Presse, Wave Books, and others.

Want to Learn More or Get Involved?

Visit our FAQ page for more details on the mission and vision, how we established the libraries, and who to contact if you’re interested in establishing a similar library in your community. If you represent a press or publisher who’d like to donate review copies or front or backlist titles, please contact us at africanpoetrybf@unl.edu.


The Libraries

Established within existing public libraries in these cities, cultural centers, writers centers or other arts centers that have a proven history of accessibility to all, each library is staffed by volunteers or library staff and supported by volunteers who are poets or who are themselves supporters of poetry in the various countries. The first five reading libraries, founded in 2014, are located in the Gambia, Ghana, Kenya, Botswana, and Uganda. Two more libraries, in Lomé, Togo, and Mombasa, Kenya, are slated to open in 2021. Click a library below to read more and view photos, or visit the catalog to see the current holdings in the collection.

African Poetry Library, Ghana

Adjei Apenen
George Padmore Research Library on African Affairs
6th Ave
Ridge, Accra
Library Catalog

African Poetry Library, Kenya (Nairobi)

Billy Kahora
Kwani Trust
The Elephant, 3 Kanjata Road
Nairobi, Kenya, 00100
Library Catalog

African Poetry Library, Uganda

Teesa Bahana
Ugandan Arts Trust.
Resource Centre Assistant
32° East | Ugandan Arts Trust
Plot 2239, Ggaba Road, Kansanga, Kampala.

email: library@ugandanartstrust.org
www.ugandanartstrust.org
UG: +256 779 365 400
Library Catalog

African Poetry Library, Botswana

Makhebe Segwati
Gaborone Public Library
Gaborone Council premises
Plot 329/330
Independence Avenue 5
Gaborone, Botswana

tel 00267 3953664
Library Catalog

African Poetry Library, Gambia

Kadija George
National Center for the Arts and Culture
Fajara, Gambia
Library Catalog

African Poetry Library, Togo *COMING SOON*

Patron Kokou Henekou
University of Lomé
Boulevard Gnansigbe Eyadema
01 BP. 1515 Lomé 01, Togo

Le Littéraire (www.lelitteraire-tg.net)

African Poetry Library, Kenya (Mombasa) *COMING SOON*

Salma Abdulatif Yusuf
Leven House
Old Town, Mombasa
40508-80100

From the Blog

APBF News

APBF awarded Capacity-Building Grant by the Academy of American Poets

APBF Staff February 14, 2023

Impact on the Literary World

Researchathon Event

APBF Staff October 31, 2022

APBF Map Director

Grants

APBF is Hiring!

APBF Staff August 25, 2022

More from the Blog
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Email
  • RSS

© 2023 African Poetry Book Fund | All rights reserved.
110 Andrews Hall, University of Nebraska–Lincoln, Lincoln, NE 68588-0334
Site Credits