Poets

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Porsha Olayiwola

Poet Laureate of Boston, MA 2020

Porsha Olayiwola is a writer, performer, educator, and curator. Originally from Chicago, Olayiwola earned a BA in African American Studies and Gender and Women Studies from the University of Illinois, Champaign-Urbana, and is an MFA candidate at Emerson College. Olayiwola is the author of the collection i shimmer sometimes, too (Button Poetry, 2019). An Individual World Poetry Slam Champion and the artistic director at MassLEAP, a literary youth organization, Olayiwola is the current poet laureate for the city of Boston.

Read about Porsha Olayiwola’s 2020 Poets Laureate Fellowship project.

Porsha Olayiwola
Poet Laureate Project
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Laureate Project
Poet Laureate of Boston, MA

Poet Laureate of Boston, MA

In 2020, Porsha Olayiwola was named an Academy of American Poets Laureate Fellow.