Japa Fire

Japa Fire: An Anthology of Poems on African and African Diasporic Migration is the first in a new poetry anthology series, the Africa Migration Report Poetry Anthology Series, exploring themes around African and African diasporic migration and (im)mobility.

Taking its name from "The Japa Fire" by Ayo Ayoola-Amale, one of the contributors, each of the 63 poems in the collection has been selected for how it speaks to themes around African and African diasporic migration and (im)mobility and to other poems in the collection, and for the contribution each makes to the conversation taking place around the world on the themes.

The collection also explores questions around Blackness, Africanness and African diasporism, and features contributions from Ab ọ́d n Abdul, Nzingha Assata, Ayo Ayoola-Amale, Jo Blackwood, Efua Boadu, Anayo Dioha, Philippa Hatendi-Louiceus, Amanda Holiday, Sello Huma, Nandi Jola, Ilan Kelman, Tifany MarSah, Epiphanie Mukasano, M Sahr Nouwah, Mark Kennedy Nsereko, Collins Chibunna Nwachukwu, Helidah Ogude-Chambert, Omobola Osamor, Adaora Raji, and Laur ne Southe.

Organised by Forced Migration and The Arts, CivicLeicester and the migrants' rights collective Regularise, the Africa Migration Report Poetry Anthology Series was inspired by the Africa Migration Report: Linking policy, practice and the welfare of the African migrant (AUC/IOM, 2024).