Kabura Zakama's Biography

I usually say that I am a veterinarian by training, a development worker by vocation and a poet by calling. I started writing simple poetry when I was about 14 years old, the first trigger being the loss of my 'puppy love!' Since then I have written poems inspired by intense emotion, whether it be love, an act of kindness or a very difficult situations.

 I wrote a lot of poems about animals when I was in vet school and shared them on the school noticeboard. However, until 1995, I was too shy to share my poems with people. Following a poetry/short story workshop, I was able to share my work with informed audiences. My unpublished collection of poem (later published in 2004) won the ANA (Association of Nigerian Authors) 1999 Poetry Prize. Since then, I have published my poems in several anthologies, including '25 New Nigerian Poet,' edited by Toyin Adewale-Gabriel and published by Ismael Reed Publishing Co; 'Dance the Guns to Silence: 100 Poems for Ken Saro-Wiwa,' published by flipped-eye.

 I am currently working on 2 collections of poem, 'Chant of the Angry' and 'Every Rambler Knows,' and a collection of short stories, 'Paradise of Dreams.'