By Bashir Bello
The Port Harcourt Poetry Festival is set to return for its third edition on Friday, November 7, 2025, at the Knowledge Development Centre, Waterlines, Port Harcourt, with the theme “Beyond Boundaries This year’s edition will feature the official launch of the “My Garden City” poetry anthology, a collection of poems written by secondary school students across Rivers State. The anthology, edited by Emmanuel Ephraim, founder of the Poetry Unplugged Project, received submissions from over 30 schools and has drawn commendation from notable literary figures including Dr. Kudo Eresia-Eke, Prof. Obari Gomba, Umar Abubakar Sidi, Amu Nnadi, and Uzo Nwamara.
According to the organisers, the 2025 festival promises an engaging array of literary and artistic activities, ranging from workshops, panel sessions, and film screenings to the High Schools Poetry Slam and the main festival slam competition. Winners of the competitions are expected to receive cash prizes totalling over ₦500,000, while the overall champion will qualify to represent Port Harcourt at the National Grand Slam in Abuja in early 2026.
The Director of the Festival, Ken-Adele Marvellous Oruchi, who also serves as the founder of More Life Poetry, disclosed that preparations are underway for the launch of the Port Harcourt Poetry Hub in January 2026. The hub, he said, will function as a poetry resource centre and drive an all-year-round literary advocacy campaign across the 23 local government areas of Rivers State.
“The festival is a platform for nurturing creativity, building confidence, and promoting the literary culture among young people,” Oruchi stated, expressing optimism about the growing impact of poetry in the region.
The organisers have extended invitations to writers, artists, and poetry enthusiasts to attend the festival and partake in what they described as “a celebration of words, voices, and imagination beyond boundaries.”
