Sanctificum

Sanctificum is a book-length sequence of linked poems and the fifth poetry collection by Christopher Abani. Published in 2010 by Copper Canyon Press, it is a liturgical love song that incorporates religious ritual, reggae rhythms, and the Igbo language of the author's Nigerian homeland. The work explores the intersections of love and atrocity, politics and religion, and loss and renewal across global settings from Abuja to Los Angeles. According to Google Books, it is Abani's most personal and ambitious collection, investigating romantic love, family, and complex personal history.

Christopher Abani is a Nigerian American author born on December 27, 1966, in Afikpo, Nigeria, to a Nigerian father and an English mother. As noted by Poets.org, he fled Nigeria in 1968 during the Biafran War. Abani is a former political prisoner who was imprisoned in Nigeria for his writings and criticisms of the government. He holds a B.A. from Imo State University and an M.A. from Birkbeck College in London. A British citizen, he currently lives and works in California.