Arts Lounge Literary Magazine is proud to announce the winners of the “Dirge to Harmattan” Poetry Contest, a call that invited poets across Nigeria to mourn, remember, and reimagine the fading breath of harmattan in the face of climate change.

We received a remarkable number of entries, poems that carried dust, memory, grief, and longing. Many of you sent us back to mornings of cracked lips and dusty horizons, to the hush of cold winds and the slow disappearance of a season that once defined our rhythm of life.

After careful reading and consideration, we are pleased to present our winners:

Winner
A Piece of Ourselves by Otiegbe Ikenna Charles
A deeply evocative piece that captures the quiet disappearance of harmattan. This poem stood out for its imagery, and its powerful meditation on loss and environmental change.

First Runner-Up
I Sing Lost Dust by Ndubuisi Aluu Orji
A haunting poem that reflects on memory and absence, drawing connections between fossil fuels, environmental pollution and subsequent ecological disaster.

Second Runner-Up
Elegy for the Lost Frost by Rachael Ajisafe
A compelling piece that blends nostalgia with urgency, reminding us of what is at stake if we continue to neglect our environment.

Click on the titles of these poems to read them.
We extend our heartfelt congratulations to our winners and sincere appreciation to every poet who submitted their work. Your voices matter. Your words carry the weight of caution, memory, awareness, and the environment we must fight to preserve.

All winning and shortlisted poems will be published in our upcoming The Green we Left Behind Series.

Harmattan may be fading, but through your poetry and literary voices, we strive to reclaim the greens and dusts we left behind.