"Poetry Is a Way to Go Against Silence": Hussain Ahmed Wins Inaugural Tayur Prize

Nigerian poet and University of Cincinnati PhD candidate Hussain Ahmed’s poetry collection “Sing, Sky,” began with music.

“I started writing from a place of wanting to interrogate the intersection between music that speaks about African experiences or the general human experience, and how that can be infused into poetry,” Ahmed said.

Now, Ahmed and his book are the first winners of Carnegie Mellon University Press’s newly created Tayur Poetry Prize.

The Prize was founded late last year through a generous gift from Sridhar R. Tayur, Ford Distinguished Research Chair and University Professor of Operations Management at the Tepper School of Business. It honors an outstanding collection by an emerging poet by publishing the book and giving the author a $500 cash prize.

This year the winner was selected by University of Chicago Professor of English and “The Paris Review” poetry editor Srikanth "Chicu" Reddy, who judged the competition.

“From a present-day Nigeria riven by sectarian violence to the Kafkaesque immigration offices of our United States, [Ahmed] maps a difficult passage through exile, migration, dream, song, and desire,” Reddy said. “In its tenderness, outrage, hilarity, and wonder, this book reminds us that the poet’s work is forever migrant.”

“I am delighted that the inaugural Prize was adjudicated by Srikanth, whose literary judgment sets a high standard for the award.” Tayur said. “I want to warmly congratulate Hussain on his striking collection. I hope this recognition from CMU Press serves as a meaningful springboard for your poetic journey.”

The music Ahmed grew up with was a jumping off point for him — one that led him to research the history behind that music. “Specifically African talking drums, which are used in African music generally,” Ahmed said.

“Talking drums are the key to the collection, because ancient and contemporary Yoruba culture believe that a drum speaks; they have a message and a communicative potential. But then for me, how does that relate to poetry? What is the poetry in that?” Ahmed said.

Talking drums, which originated in West Africa, are a kind of hourglass-shaped drum that’s uniquely able to mimic the tone and rhythm of human speech. Beginning in the 18th century, these drums were used to send messages — like news of ceremonies or commands — as far as four or five miles; they’re still used today by musicians and in traditional ceremonies like weddings and burials.

Ahmed became interested in musicians he admired who used talking drums in their music, musicians like Fela Kuti, Noor Al-Jailani, and Boubacar Traore.

“I started using a form of what I call poetic reincarnation, where I would imagine these artists leading a protest — Fela’s dead, but he’s leading a protest somewhere. And Al-Jailani, he will lead the protest in Sudan,” Ahmed said. “I wanted the book to not just speak about culture, but also about infusing it with history. It’s about what poetry can do to communicate the present by inquiring about the past.”

Ahmed felt compelled to examine the interplay between culture, history, and politics because of his own experience as an immigrant. “I’m here as a student, and if you are a student, you cannot protest in any way. You have to keep mute,” Ahmed said. “So for me, poetry is a way to go against silence.”

The centerpiece of “Sing, Sky” is the middle section of the book: a single, 30+ page abecedarian poem. An abecedarian poem typically corresponds with the alphabet, with the first letter of each line or stanza corresponding with each successive letter of the English alphabet. Ahmed’s is different; his abecedarian is a Yoruba abecedarian.

“I think it’s a form I created,” Ahmed said. “I don’t know of anyone who’d written a Yoruba abecedarian before, but I did."

While the Yoruba alphabet and English alphabet share some letters — they both start with A, for example — there are also letters that don’t correspond. “There’s letters like Gb in Yoruba that we don’t have in English. At the same time, I saw how many things — like environmental pollution — I was planning to write about that couldn’t fit in a single poem or program,” Ahmed said.

He saw that dysjunction — between English and Yoruba — as an opportunity to expand the limits of the form. “I wanted to push myself a little bit further. With my poem, something started small but it got big. And when it got very big, I knew when to stop.”

For Ahmed, winning the very first Tayur Prize is more than a recognition of all the thought and work he’s put into the collection over the years; he sees it as a form of recognition for poetry and poets everywhere.

“It’s always very good to be the first, because of the possibility I’ve opened the way for many other people, other poets who come after me. The support that we get is very important, and when you see someone funding a prize for poetry it’s a very important gesture,” Ahmed said. “Because poetry is where people come to have a mind of their own. It’s where you become bold.”

Ahmed’s book is slated for publication in Spring 2027. In the meantime, he’s working on completing his PhD and teaching poetry workshops here in the States and back home in Nigeria.

“My next project is to continue to talk to people about poetry, and to continue to dream about words,” he said. “My crazy thoughts now are about reading as many poets as possible, and to engage people about poetry in any space I get the opportunity to.”