Pulitzer Prize-winning poet Tyehimba Jess has selected Kweku Abimbola’s manuscript Saltwater Demands a Psalm as the recipient of the 2022 Academy of American Poets First Book Award, the nation’s most valuable first-book prize for a poet. Abimbola’s manuscript will be published by Graywolf Press in April 2023.
In addition to publication, Abimbola will receive a six-week all-expenses-paid residency at the Civitella Ranieri Center in Umbria, Italy, as well as $5,000. The Academy of American Poets will also purchase and send thousands of copies of the book to its members, making it one of the most widely distributed poetry books of the year. In addition, he will be featured on Poets.org and in American Poets magazine.