Harmattan Letters, Poems
₦6,500
Poetry bookshop and reading room · Bodija, Ibadan
Read slowly. Read aloud.
Collections, anthologies and chapbooks, readings every second Friday and workshops on Saturday mornings. Every poet in this demo store is an invented example.
This month
The contents
- 01Harmattan Letters, PoemsPoetry Collections₦6,500
- 02Lagoon Hymns, PoemsPoetry Collections₦7,000
- 03Okra Moon, PoemsPoetry Collections₦5,500
- 04Small Gods of Kano, PoemsPoetry Collections₦7,500
- 05Bus Stop SonnetsPoetry Collections₦5,000
- 06Grandmother Tongue, Poems in Igbo and EnglishPoetry Collections₦6,500
- 07Red Earth, PoemsPoetry Collections₦6,000
- 08Salt and Indigo, PoemsPoetry Collections₦6,000
- 09New Voices from the Room, AnthologyAnthologies₦9,500
- 10City of Rain, Poems of IbadanAnthologies₦8,500
From the room
A poem is not finished until someone has heard it. That is why there is a microphone between the shelves.
The poets
Four example poets
Adaora Nwankwo, example poet
Writes letters that turn into poems. Her first book came out of a dry season in Kaduna.
Tamuno Briggs, example poet
A ferry man's son who writes about water and the people who cross it.
Kola Ajimobi, example poet
Counts syllables at bus stops. Fourteen lines, every time.
Chiamaka Ude, example poet
Started at our open mic and has not left the microphone since.
New and loved
Poetry collections
Overheard
From the reading room
“I came for the open mic and left with three chapbooks.”
“The workshop gave me a Saturday morning back every week.”
“I did not know poetry could be this loud.”
Example quotes for this demo store.
Readings
Coming up in the room
2026-11-13
Friday reading: water poems
7pm · THE POETRY ROOM, Bodija
Book a seatTwo example poets read poems of rivers, creeks and lagoons.
2026-11-28
Open mic night
6pm · THE POETRY ROOM, Bodija
Book a seatNames on the list at the door. One poem each.
2026-12-11
Launch: Small Gods of Kano
7pm · THE POETRY ROOM, Bodija
Book a seatA launch reading for an invented example book, signed on the night.
Example dates for this demo store.
ReadCollections, anthologies, chapbooks and signed copies.The shelves
WriteWorkshops from first poems to your own chapbook.WorkshopsSmall and signed
Chapbooks, anthologies and signed copies
Three for the bus
Pick any three chapbooks
Small books for small journeys. Choose any three.
When the Light Went, Chapbook
₦2,500
0Danfo Psalms, Chapbook
₦2,500
0Palm Wine at Noon, Chapbook
₦2,500
0Ten Poems for My Mother, Chapbook
₦2,000
0Creek Water, Chapbook
₦3,000
0
The box costs what its products cost, and each one goes into the cart.
Workshops
How a workshop runs
Bring two poems
Finished or not. Nobody is graded.
Read aloud
Everyone reads; everyone listens.
Talk it through
What worked, what to try next.
Write again
A short exercise to take home each week.
Saturdays
Workshops to book
First Poems Workshop, Four Saturdays
Workshop
₦35,000
View details
Sonnets and Forms Workshop, Six Weeks
Workshop
₦48,000
View details
Spoken Word and Performance, One Day
Workshop
₦18,000
View details
Make Your Chapbook, Eight Weeks
Workshop
₦75,000
View details
The reading room
Two walls of poetry, twelve chairs, a lamp for every corner and a microphone that is switched on twice a month. Come in, take a book off the shelf and stay as long as you like.
The week
When the room is open
Example times for this demo store.
The room
From a stall to a reading room
2017
A book stall
Poetry on a table outside a café near UI.
2019
Open mic
The first open mic, eleven readers and one borrowed speaker.
2022
Bodija
The reading room opens with two walls of shelves.
2025
Chapbooks
We start printing small runs for poets from our workshops.
Example dates for this demo store.
The page
The draft
The press
Questions
Are the poets real?
In this demo store, every poet and title is an invented example.
Can anyone read at the open mic?
Yes. Put your name on the list at the door; one poem each.
Do you post books?
Yes, anywhere in Nigeria by courier.
The poem of the month
One poem by email on the first of every month, with the month's readings.