Rattle Poetry

Rasaq Malik Gbolahan: Anhinga Prize Winner & Nigerian Poetry

Rattle Poetry

Show Notes

Rasaq Malik Gbolahan joins Timothy Green on The Rattlecast for a conversation about his poetry and writing life. A Nigerian poet, performer, translator, and editor, Rasaq is the winner of the 2024 Anhinga Prize for Poetry for his first full-length collection The Origin of Wounds. He is the founding editor-in-chief of Agbowó and co-founder of Àtẹ́lẹwọ́, a digital journal dedicated to Yorùbá-language literature. In this episode, we discuss his work, the craft of poetry, and African literary spaces. We’ll also open the lines for this week’s prompt-based reading.

This Week’s Prompt: Think of the moment in your life that you most wish you had a photo of but don’t. Make it come to life in a sensory-rich poem.

Next Week’s Prompt: Write a poem that quotes a line from a Rattle Poetry Prize finalist from the year you found out about Rattle.

Submit your poem through Submittable by midnight Sunday for a chance to be invited on the show: https://rattle.submittable.com/submit/269309/rattlecast-prompt-poems-online

Find more about Rasaq Malik Gbolahan here: https://rasaqmalikgbolahan.com/

The Rattlecast livestreams every Monday on YouTube, Facebook, and X, then becomes available as an audio podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and wherever you listen.

More from Rattle Poetry

Oct 20, 2026

Mark Yakich joins Timothy Green on The Rattlecast for a conversation about reading poetry, writing poetry, experimental poetics, and what makes a poem work. Yakich is the Gregory F. Curtin, S.J., Distinguished Professor of English at Loyola University New Orleans and director of its Center for Editing and Publishing. His books include Spiritual Exercises, The Importance of Peeling Potatoes in Ukraine, and Unrelated Individuals Forming a Group Waiting to Cross, winner of the National Poetry Series, as well as the unconventional craft book Poetry: A Survivor’s Guide. His most recent project is The Poetry Reader: An Anthology, published by Bloomsbury in 2025.

Oct 13, 2026

Ephraim Scott Sommers joins Timothy Green on The Rattlecast for a conversation about poetry, chronic illness, gratitude, music, and his new collection, Diabetic Gumdrops. A poet, essayist, singer-songwriter, and associate professor of English at Winthrop University, Sommers is the author of the award-winning collections The Night We Set the Dead Kid on Fire and Someone You Love Is Still Alive. His poetry has appeared in Rattle and many other literary journals.

Oct 6, 2026

Stephen A. Allen joins Timothy Green on The Rattlecast for a conversation about poetry, music, formal verse, Tourette syndrome, and his debut collection, Difficult Music. A former Rattle Poetry Prize finalist and longtime Rattle contributor, Allen was born and raised in Vermont and now lives in Michigan. His poetry has also appeared in Modern Haiku, MacQueen’s Quinterly, Northern New England Review, and elsewhere.

Sep 29, 2026

Molly Fisk returns to The Rattlecast for a conversation with Timothy Green about poetry, storytelling, history, and her new book, Walking Wheel. A poet, essayist, radio commentator, and former Poet Laureate of Nevada County, California, Fisk is an Academy of American Poets Laureate Fellow and a recipient of a National Endowment for the Arts Fellowship. She first joined us on Rattlecast #61 in 2020 to discuss California Fire & Water: A Climate Crisis Anthology.

Sep 22, 2026

Lance Larsen joins Timothy Green on The Rattlecast to celebrate Secretary of the Invisible Thing, one of the three winners of the 2026 Rattle Chapbook Prize. A former Poet Laureate of Utah, Larsen is the author of six full-length poetry collections, including Making a Kingdom of It, What the Body Knows, and Genius Loci. His poems have appeared in Poetry, The New York Review of Books, The Times Literary Supplement, The Southern Review, and elsewhere, and his honors include a Pushcart Prize and a fellowship from the National Endowment for the Arts.

See all episodes →