Best of Isele Anthology

Introduction

This inaugural edition of the Best of Isele Anthology, which features the excellent works we’ve published in Isele Magazine, despite the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on our lives, is a distinct and reassuring compilation; more than just a book, it is a vessel of hope.

These stories, poems, and essays appeared in our general and quarterly issues from inception through January 2022. The response to the work we’ve published has been heart-warming and encouraging—the very validation we needed to continue this journey. Late last year, to show our gratitude to our contributors, we decided to launch The Isele Prizes, an initiative that celebrates the writers who continue to trust us with their work, and who continue to believe in our mission. The prizes are split into three categories—short stories, poetry, and essays; each category is judged by a panel of two judges.

The works we publish at Isele Magazine are brilliant and defiant, poignantly exploring themes that defy conventional expectations, which made narrowing down the short stories, poems, and essays for the inaugural longlists a challenge. These works encapsulate our mission: to provide a platform for writers who hold a mirror to our society.

Producing the shortlist was even more difficult. Our judges carefully read each piece, considering them against predetermined criteria relating to our vision for this initiative. Ultimately, it took many months of reading and re-reading before our judges arrived at the winners.

Nora Nneka’s deeply moving essay, “Sense of Touch,” won the nonfiction category. Nneka uses spellbinding language throughout her piece to explore the relationship between a daughter and her mother, family trauma, grief, and how these experiences shape a woman’s narrative arc: her relationship with her body, her journey through pregnancy, and the joy that comes from embracing your own story—stories which define relationship with self and community.

Uche Umezurike’s winning poem, “there’s more,” takes us around the world, gathering stories about people who search for new beginnings despite the dangers that lurk in the deserts and in the seas, dangers that can nip dreams at the bud; our seekers must brave these dangers for their sanity, for a moment away from the despair they are leaving behind. Umezurike’s poem is timeless, and we are so lucky he trusted us with his work.

Esther Ifesinachi Okonkwo’s winning short story, “The Year of the Sun,” explores the difficult conversation about how people love, despite or because of personal and cultural programming, traditions and expectations. With a language that pulses within a tightly controlled structure, “The Year of the Sun,” is a masterfully crafted story which fully immerses the reader in setting as Okonkwo builds a world with mathematical precision, so much so that readers, even if they aren’t familiar with the period or the culture, are able to see themselves in her characters. This is a story that stays with you.

The exceptional writers in this anthology remind us of the transformative power of stories and the beauty of language. We find succor in their words. Even when it feels like our world is falling apart, we can find healing in the words of these writers who have taken a mirror to our society and showed us new ways to be, to live, and to persevere in the face of what is.

What these works also have in common is their ability to immerse us in different periods and cultures, and to do this with stunning and intelligent language. Some writers respond to ongoing cultural conversations about ways of being, abortion, sexuality, and how we grieve. Others take a keen look at how our interactions during challenging times shape us.

End of sample. From Best of Isele Anthology.