Michigan State University’s Womxn of Color Initiatives (WOCI) has selected Porsha Olayiwola, Poet Laureate for the city of Boston, Massachusetts, as its 2025 Artist-in-Residence. She will be in residence on Michigan State University’s campus March 24-27.
“We are excited to welcome Porsha Olayiwola to Michigan State University, where she will engage and inspire our students, faculty, staff, and the broader community,” said Yen-Hwei Lin, Interim Dean of the College of Arts & Letters. “An award-winning poet, performer, educator, and curator, Porsha employs Afrofuturism and surrealism to explore historical and contemporary issues within the Black, woman, and queer diasporas. We are committed to amplifying the voices of womxn of color in the intellectual and artistic life at MSU.”
WOCI will provide MSU students with opportunities to meet and learn from Olayiwola. In addition to these conversations and mentorship experiences, WOCI also is offering the following opportunities for the public to engage with the artist-in-residence:
Poetry Workshop
Olayiwola will lead a poetry workshop on Wednesday, March 26, at 6 p.m. in the Department of African American and African Studies’ Student Cafe in North Kedzie Hall. Register here.
Luncheon
All womxn of color-identified graduate students and allies are invited to meet with Olayiwola over lunch on Thursday, March 27, at noon. This informal conversation will provide graduate students with an intimate setting to engage with the artist-in-residence. Register here.
Keynote Address
Olayiwola will give her keynote address on Thursday, March 27, at 6:30 p.m. on the fourth floor of the MSU Library in the Green Room. Register here.
Olayiwola earned her MFA in Poetry from Emerson College. Her debut poetry collection, I shimmer sometimes, too, was published in 2019. She is the founder of the Roxbury Poetry Festival, a biennial event held in Roxbury, Massachusetts, that features award-winning writers, panelists, and curators.
As the 2020 laureate fellow with the Academy of American Poets, Olayiwola established the Roxbury Poetry Festival for which the inaugural festival was held in 2021. Olayiwola also was the 2021 Artist-in-Residence at the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum in Boston, the 2019 Heimark Artists-In-Residence at Brown University, and the 2014 Individual World Poetry Slam Champion.
Not only does Olayiwola work meticulously on her own craft, she has devoted a large portion of her career to helping youth with their poetry. She served as the Dean of Enrichment at Codman Academy for eight years before it disbanded, where she founded their award-winning slam poetry team. She also coached a couple of slam poetry teams at MassLEAP before taking on the role of Artistic Director.
“I hope students learn how to use poetry to discuss the nuance, vastness, and brilliance of the African/Black diaspora and how to make use of our pain and joy and recognize the depth and beauty in each. Porsha’s work is an example of that and I am excited for students to work with her.”
Chamara Kwayke, Assistant Professor in the Department of African American and African Studies
“I’m excited about Porsha’s visit. Her commitment to youth, performance, and poetry are astonishing. I am especially excited to host her in my AAAS 495: Writing for Our Lives course,” said Chamara Kwayke, Assistant Professor in the Department of African American and African Studies who helped organize this year’s WOCI Artist-in-Residence visit and events. “Throughout the semester, students have learned about the power of different types of writing, and Porsha will close out our unit on poetry by reading I Shimmer Sometimes Too. In reading it, I hope students learn how to use poetry to discuss the nuance, vastness, and brilliance of the African/Black diaspora and how to make use of our pain and joy and recognize the depth and beauty in each. Porsha’s work is an example of that and I am excited for students to work with her.”
WOCI is an effort to organize events for womxn of color and their allies on MSU’s campus and in the greater Lansing community. It empowers community members and MSU students, faculty, and staff with new skills and conversations that center around the arts and social justice. As part of this initiative, the artist-in-residence program has hosted muralists, poets, podcasters, and beyond here on campus to engage with the MSU community and greater Lansing area. By bringing together artists and communities, WOCI aims to create space for meaningful conversations about social and racial justice and equity.
By Kim Popiolek
