Nigerian Journalist, Oyelola Ogunrinde Longlisted for 2025 Live Canon International Poetry Competition
Western Post Journalist Oyelola Ogunrinde Longlisted for 2025 Live Canon International Poetry Competition
Nigerian writer and Western Post journalist, Oyelola Ogunrinde, has been longlisted for the 2025 Live Canon International Poetry Competition.
The prestigious UK-based award, which has been in existence for over a decade, celebrates exceptional contemporary poetry and was notably won in 2014 by Nigerian-British poet Inua Ellams.
This year’s overall winner, The Beekeeper of Heligan by Lauren Thomas, was announced at an online ceremony on Thursday, October 23, by guest judge Nina Murray—a poet and translator renowned for her powerful and thought-provoking lyricism. Murray commended both the winning entry and the broader collection of submissions, highlighting the “high calibre and thematic diversity” of this year’s competition.
The selection process for the Live Canon Prize is known for its rigour, with judges placing strong emphasis on technical precision, emotional resonance, and originality.
Being longlisted, according to the organisers, signifies that a poet’s work demonstrates exceptional literary quality and the rare capacity to stand out in a blind judging process involving thousands of entries from around the world.
Nigerian writer Oyelola Ogunrinde longlisted for the 2025 Live Canon International Poetry Competition
Nigerian Journalist and writer Oyelola Ogunrinde have been longlisted for the 2025 Live Canon International Poetry Competition . The award has been in existence for more than ten years in the UK. Nigerian British poet Inua Ellams won the prize in 2014 .
The Beekeeper of Heligan by Lauren Thomas was the overall winner . It was announced at an online event on Thursday 23rd October, by Guest judge Nina Murray, a poet and translator celebrated for her powerful, often unsettling lyricism, praised the winning poem and the entire collection, noting the high calibre and thematic diversity of the entries.
The selection process for the Live Canon prize is rigorous, with judge focusing intensely on technical skill, emotional depth and originality.
Being longlisted is an indication that a poem possesses not only literary merit but also the unique ability to stand out in a blind judging process against thousands of competing works.
All the longlisted poems are included in our 2025 anthologyu here: https://www.livecanon.co.uk/store/product/2025-prize-anthology
