NIGERIAN POET GETS HONOURABLE MENTION IN US VARSITY LITERARY PRIZE

Nigerian-born poet, Adeniyi Odukoya, has received an honourable mention in the 2026 Vanderbilt University Literary Prize.

Vanderbilt University, United States, which organises the annual poetry award, announced the recognition in the United States.

Odukoya, who is completing a Master of Fine Arts in Literary Arts at Brown University, was one of eight poets named for honourable mentions this year.

The competition attracted nearly 400 submissions from poets in the United States and internationally.

The university, in a statement on it’s website announcing the winners, said, “Honorable mentions are extended to Gabriel Fine, Stefania Gomez, Meg Day, Maja Lukic, Adeniyi Odukoya, Maggie Queeney, Brandon Thurman and Christell Victoria Roach.”

The 2026 Vanderbilt University Literary Prize was won by poet Jane Huffman for her manuscript, Dilemma, which will be published by Vanderbilt University Press in March 2027.

Odukoya, in a statement on Monday, said the honourable mention added to previous recognitions of his work.

“The honorable mention adds to a body of recognition built steadily over nearly a decade,” the statement read.

He said his poem, “Food is Peace,” won the Food Poetry Prize organised by Poets in Nigeria in 2018.

“My poem ‘Food is Peace’ won the Food Poetry Prize from Poets in Nigeria in 2018, selected from a field of more than 150 entries for its treatment of poverty and food insecurity,” the statement read.

He added, “My debut chapbook, Preserve This Light, was one of only six selected for publication by Poets in Nigeria in 2021.”

On his publishing record, Odukoya said, “Since then, my poetry has appeared in literary journals including Roadrunner Review, Palette Poetry, The Shore, Olongo Africa, and, most recently, the Cincinnati Review.”

He also said he has worked as a literary critic. “I have also built a parallel career as a critic,” the statement read.

He added, “My reviews of contemporary poetry collections by D.M. Aderibigbe and Canisia Lubrin have appeared in World Literature 

Odukoya said he is set to complete his Master of Fine Arts programme at Brown University later this year.

“I am set to graduate from Brown in December 2026,” the statement added.