A serendipitous triple encounter with Safia Elhillo

On Saturday, October 2, I was part of a poetry reading organized by the journal, Almost Island. The reading featured Zimbabwean poets whose work appeared in the monsoon 2021 edition of the journal.

During the reading, one of the poets, Tariro Ndoro, while speaking about poets who influence her, mentioned the Sudanese poet, Safia Elhillo and the Palestinian poet, George Abraham. Encounter number 1.

I hadn’t heard about either of these poets before so I noted their names down and the next day, I googled them. I found myself watching looking through their websites, watching YouTube videos of some of their performances, and even reading a Wikipedia entry about Elhillo. Encounter number 2.

This morning, the Prairie Schooner newsletter lands in my inbox and who is right there at the top? Safia Elhillo. Encounter 3.

Have your own encounters

Here are two videos to encourage you to have your own encounters with Safia Elhillo and George Abraham.

George Abraham – Apology

Safia Elhillo – To Make Use of Water