So I heard slam poet Shailja Patel on KQED this weekend and was blown away by how powerful her work is. An East Asian/Indian born in Uganda, Patel’s poems reference the expulsion of Asians from Uganda under Idi Amin, familial support and striving, and her own life as a woman of color.
What a terrific artist! (Oh, and she lives in the Bay area..)
Poems
MP3 File – Dreaming in Gujurati
RealAudio File – Eater of Death
MP3 File – She said No
(photo by Matt Fitt)