Kovave takes its name from the first initiation ceremony at Orokolo, in the Papuan Gulf. It was the first literary magazine in Papua New Guinea, founded in 1969 by Ulli Beier — who had previously co-founded Black Orpheus in Ìbàdàn and helped build the Mbari Club. The editorial method travelled intact: find young writers, put them in print quickly and cheaply. Georgina Beier designed the covers, as she had in Nigeria.
The journal appeared twice yearly and ran to thirteen issues before closing in 1975. The OlongoAfrica Library holds 7 of the 13 issues, from the first (November 1969) through June 1972 — essentially the whole of Beier’s editorship — plus one special issue from 1974. This is not the complete run; if you hold issues from volumes 4 or 5, we would like to hear from you at publisher@olongoafrica.com. Beier appears again on the 1974 editorial board of Odù, listed at the Institute of New Guinea Cultures — three collections in this Library meet in one person.
