Noisy Streetss Publishing has released Ponmo Is a Bird That Has No Place in a Cultured Culinary Sky & Other Stories, the third volume in the Love in Detty December series. Edited by Angel Nduka-Nwosu, Àjọkẹ́ Bọ́dúndé, and Mofiyinfoluwa O., the collection gathers eleven stories exploring love in its many December forms—fleeting, forbidden, unexpected, and maddening.

The anthology captures love arriving in all its variations across Lagos and Accra. From the quiet frustration of unreturned affection in A Quiet Heartbreak to love blooming at a funeral in Stardust, the collection refuses to romanticize December romance while still celebrating its possibilities. Ka Mashabe explores the dangerous comfort of falling for a best friend’s fiancée, while A Small Accra Theory examines the strange pull of fate.

What distinguishes this collection is its commitment to contemporary African romantic storytelling grounded in shared December experiences. The stories avoid directing themselves at the white gaze, instead focusing on the specific textures of African urban life during the festive season. The editors have curated pieces that balance the chaos and beauty of love, capturing both its capacity to devastate and its power to surprise.

Ponmo Is a Bird That Has No Place in a Cultured Culinary Sky & Other Stories is available for purchase at ₦10,000 from Noisy Streetss Publishing. The collection joins previous volumes in the Love in Detty December series as part of the publisher’s ongoing celebration of African romantic fiction.