Safia Elhillo facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Safia Elhillo
صافية الحلو |
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Elhillo by Caits Meissner for Jellyfish Treasury
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| Born | December 16, 1990 Rockville, Maryland, United States
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| Education | New York University (BA) The New School (MFA) |
| Occupation | Poet |
Safia Elhillo (born December 16, 1990) is a talented Sudanese-American poet. She is well-known for her amazing written and spoken poems. Safia studied at New York University and The New School, where she earned degrees in poetry.
She has performed her poems all over the world and has won many important awards for her work. Safia has shared the stage with famous poets like Sonia Sanchez. She has also taught at places like Split This Rock and the Tin House Summer Workshop. Currently, she is a special fellow at Stanford University.
Contents
Safia's Early Life
Safia Elhillo was born on December 16, 1990, in Rockville, Maryland. Her parents were from Sudan. She grew up following the Muslim faith.
Her Poetry Career
Safia's poems have appeared in many different books and magazines. Some of these include Poetry and Callaloo. Her work has also been featured in popular collections of poems. These include The BreakBeat Poets and New Daughters of Africa.
Safia has shared her poems on big stages and platforms. She has performed at TEDxNewYork and for Under Armour's Unlike Any campaign. She has also performed at the South African State Theatre and the New Amsterdam Theatre on Broadway. Her work was even shown on TV1's Verses & Flow.
Awards and Honors
Safia Elhillo has received many honors for her poetry. She was nominated for the Pushcart Prize and got a special mention in 2016. She also won the 2015 Brunel University African Poetry Prize. In 2016, she won the Sillerman First Book Prize for African Poets.
She has received special support and time to write from places like Cave Canem and SPACE on Ryder Farm. Her book The January Children won the 2018 Arab American Book Award. This made her the first Sudanese-American author to win that specific award. In 2018, Forbes Africa magazine listed her as one of their "30 Under 30" creative people. Safia also received a special fellowship from the Poetry Foundation in 2018.
Safia's Books
Full Poetry Collections
- The January Children (published in 2017).
- Home Is Not A Country (published in 2021).
- Girls That Never Die: Poems (published in 2022).
- Bright Red Fruit (published in 2024).
Smaller Poetry Books (Chapbooks)
- ars poetica (2016)
- a suite for ol' dirty (2016)
- Asmarani (2016)
- The Life and Times of Susie Knuckles (2012)
Main Ideas in Her Poems
In her book The January Children, Safia writes about belonging and identity. She explores these ideas especially when people move to new countries. In "Bright Red Fruit", Safia uses poems and stories to explore what it means to be yourself. She also writes about wanting to find love.
See also
