Poetry Reading Series: Ep 10

In this episode of our ‘Poetry Reading series’, we have two wonderful poets taking the craft to even greater heights:

-Adedayo Agarau reads his poem “Brown” in this episode of the Reading series.

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-Arao Ameny, reading her poem “Home is a woman”, published in The Southern Review, Spring 2020 issue. The poem is about the importance of foremothers, lineage, home, and women's land rights. 

Adedayo Agarau is an MFA candidate at the Iowa Writers’ Workshop. His manuscript, The Morning the Birds Died, was a finalist for the 2021 Sillerman Prize. His chapbook, Origin of Names, was selected for New-Generation African Poets 2020 (African Poetry Book Fund). His poems have appeared in Frontier, Lolwe, Perhappenned, Boulevard, and elsewhere. He is the current Editor-in-chief of Agbowó and was recently shortlisted for the Brunel African Poetry Prize.

Arao Ameny is a Ugandan-born, Maryland-based poet and writer from Lira, Lango, Northern Uganda. She is a Biography Writer and Editor at Poetry Foundation, publisher of Poetry Magazine. She earned her MFA in Fiction from University of Baltimore in 2019, MA in Journalism from Indiana University, and BA in Political Science from University of Indianapolis. Her first published poem “Home is a Woman” appeared in The Southern Review and won the 2020 James Olney Award. In 2021, she was shortlisted for the UK-based Brunel International African Poetry Prize, nominated for Best New Poets (USA), and won a Brooklyn Poets Fellowship (New York City, USA).