Ancestors, Answer Me

The New Voices Poetry Anthology 2025 began as a vision—an urgent need to curate a home for emerging poetic voices in the Ghanaian literary scene. When the call went out, nearly a hundred entries flew in. From an intended 20 longlisted poems, to an expanded 27, and finally, to 10 shortlisted voices engraved forever in this anthology, the journey has been nothing short of extraordinary.

Inside these pages are poems that embody conversations between past and present, weaving together heritage and innovation. Some are lyrical, rhythmic, and reminiscent of Kofi Awoonor’s resonance or Kofi Anyidoho’s cadence. Others bend and reshape language itself, defying conventions in the spirit of pioneers like Ama Ata Aidoo, proving that poetry can be both prayer and rebellion, plea and proclamation.

This anthology celebrates authenticity—fusing mother tongues with English, rhythm with silence, history with hope. It is a testament that Ghanaian poetry is alive, evolving, and deeply rooted in both tradition and transformation.

Featuring the shortlisted poets and their works:

• Benedicta Kyeremaa Addai — Kwame… Lost But Not Forgotten
• Christopher Armoh — Untitled [Speak To Me In Tongues Of Fire]
• Denoo Edinam Yawo (Poetic Siren) — Afe
• Eastwind-Blessmann Jewell (Jewell King-Speaks) — Ancestors, Answer Me
• Emmanuel Papa Quansah — Homecoming
• Estella Esinam Apenuvor — To Them That Bleach Because Life Is Not Fair
• Henaku-Budu Jedidiah Kwame (Theodore Kotompo) — What’s the Name of the Sankofa Bird?
• Okaibea-Larbi Pearldrina (Wordsmith) — Weight of Ancestral Scars
• Osae-Koranteng Derrick (Scott Frost) — A Voice From the Dead
• Richard De-Graft Tawiah (Richydegraft) — The Beautiful Ones Are Still Not Born Yet

Dear reader, as you open these pages, approach them with the reverence of ritual. Each line is not merely written—it is conjured, carrying the essence of art, memory, and the enduring spirit of a new generation of Ghanaian poets.