Activist Pelumi Olatinpo evaluates America in forthcoming poetry collection “Manifest Destiny”

Nigerian-American poet and activist Pelumi Olatinpo will release his second poetry collection, Manifest Destiny, on Sept. 30, 2025, through TogetherInWitness Publishing.

About Manifest Destiny by Pelumi Olatinpo

Timed to coincide with the United States’ 250th anniversary, the book introduces the “soneta,” a six-line poetic form with 10 words per line. The structure blends African oral tradition with Shakespearean technique and musical rhythm, offering a new framework for literary expression.

Four books

The 272-page collection is organized into four books — First Light, Testament, The Reckoning and The Return — and explores themes of race, immigration, colonialism and American identity.

Olatinpo draws on personal experience as a former undocumented immigrant who became a U.S. citizen in 2022. His poems incorporate biblical cadence, Nigerian Pidgin and constitutional language, often connecting global and domestic events.

Endnotes

The book includes scholarly endnotes and original illustrations by Tanja Dabic. It follows Olatinpo’s debut, Poeta: Sonetas and Sonnets, and has drawn comparisons to works by Claudia Rankine, Terrance Hayes and James Baldwin.

How to get the book

Manifest Destiny will be available in hardcover for $39.95. For more information, visit BookLife’s listing or Olatinpo’s official website.