Tanure Ojaide has published eight collections of his own poetry, a memoir, and two books of literary essays, including Poetic Imagination in Black Africa; his work has also appeared in numerous anthologies. He is professor of African and African-American studies at the University of North Carolina, Charlotte. Tijan M. Sallah is author of three poetry collections and a book of short stories, and is editor of New Poets of West Africa (1995).