Calling “All poets and spoken word artists from The Bahamas, including Bahamians studying or living abroad, to submit up to five poems” for a new poetry book to be published by House of Nehesi Publishers (HNP).
“Where I See The Sun – Contemporary Poetry in The Bahamas” is the working title for the book project that is underway. The poems received so far show an exciting range of subjects and a variety of writings styles are encouraged, said HNP president Jacqueline Sample.
The submission deadline is July 12, 2025, which is also Caribbean Literature Day.
The publishing guidelines for the new anthology are found at HNP’s Facebook, or can be requested at houseofnehesipublish@gmail.com.
The editors of “Where I See The Sun – Contemporary Poetry in The Bahamas” are Lasana M. Sekou, HNP’s project director, and Marion Bethel, noted Bahamian author.
Sample said, “HNP is happy to work with Marion Bethel — the award-winning Bahamian author, attorney, film producer, and human rights advocate — in widening the outreach about the book project throughout the Bahamian archipelago.”
The Call for Poetry guidelines state, “Judging is anonymous; all poems submitted will be forwarded to the editorial board or committee without names for critical review and selection.” HNP is open to poetry submissions from young and senior poets, spoken word artists — including rappers — as well as both published and unpublished writers.
“I hope the new book project will be seen as an exciting opportunity for publication by writers and spoken word artists,” said Sample.
“The anthology will certainly add to the already solid offering of Bahamian literature,” said Dr. Rhoda Arrindell, a Howard University lecturer and former assistant professor of Caribbean Literature and Writing and Rhetoric at the University of The Bahamas.
“We’re confident that the collected poems will represent the nation’s vibrant and evolving literary landscape, inclusive of a range of literary activities—whether institutionally recognized, widely known, or not,” said Sekou.
Among the well-known writers published by HNP are Kamau Brathwaite (Barbados), Amiri Baraka (USA), Marion Bethel (The Bahamas), George Lamming (Barbados), Nidaa Khoury (Israel/Palestine), Charles Matz (USA), Drisana Deborah Jack (St. Martin), Chiqui Vicioso (Dominican Rep.), and Tishani Doshi (India).
Sekou is the editor of the Where I See The Sun anthologies of contemporary poetry in St. Martin (2013), Anguilla (2015), and the Virgin Islands (2016).
