"Okpunor's influences travel with him through the poems: Maya Angelou, Toni Morrison, Lana Del Rey, Nina Simone, Warsan Shire, Ilya Kaminsky...just to name a few."-Emily Holland "Anthony Okpunor's Songs of the Caged Bird is an important book, an homage to Black women, to African culture, and to the survivor's spirit."-K. D. Harryman "SONGS OF THE CAGED BIRD engages knowingly with a generous and graceful madness."-Joshua Roark A BEST OF THE NET NOMINEE. WINNER OF 2019 KREATIVE DIADEM ANNUAL CREATIVE WRITING CONTEST (POETRY CATEGORY) FINALIST FOR THE 2020 PALETTE SPOTLIGHT POETRY AWARD LONGLISTED FOR PALETTE POETRY'S 2020 EMERGING POET PRIZE FINALIST FOR THE 2021 CHESTNUT REVIEW'S STUBBORN WRITERS CONTEST SEMI-FINALIST FOR ADROIT JOURNAL'S 2021 AWARD FOR POETRY AND PROSE SEMI-FINALIST FOR THE 2021 BOSTON REVIEW ANNUAL POETRY CONTEST Songs of the Caged Bird examines what freedom means in all its forms. The speaker in this beautifully-written and well put together book of poems speaks of varying emotions ranging from love to loss, to lust, and even death. Other themes covered in this book involve police brutality, and rape. The writer of this book lets us in on some of the events in the past years which led to killing of a handful of youths in his country. He tells us directly and indirectly so, that seeking freedom can come at a price. Broken into five sections, Songs of the Caged Bird leads us into a roller coaster. This book is a twist of light and death-love and departure. On one page you are immensely taken in by the new definition the author has given to words like bird, sea, flight, fire. On another page, a boy is being shot on a street in Nigeria. It is no doubt Okpunor is a master of his art. Not only is he renowned for his dexterity in his fine use of language, he has successfully bagged awards and nominations for his writing in contemporary poetry. This book is a testament to that claim, and is described to be one of his finest collections of poems at the moment, by both readers and editors. This is because this writer-although young and African, he has over half a decade worth of experience in creative writing, and is now a maestro. This is the reason this collection is a gift, and his words will remain with us for a long, long time.