Safia Elhillo

She has won acclaim for her work and has been the recipient of several prestigious poetry awards. Elhillo has shared the stage with notable poets such as Sonia Sanchez and has taught at Split This Rock and Tin House Summer Workshop.

• Name — Safia Elhillo صافية الحلو • Born — December 16, 1990 • Birthplace — Rockville, Maryland, United States • Occupation — Poet • Education — New York University (BA) The New School (MFA) • Website — http: safia-mafia.com/tagged/main

Elhillo was born on December 16, 1990, in Rockville, Maryland, to Sudanese parents. She was raised Muslim.

Her poems have appeared in many publications, including Poetry, Callaloo, and the Academy of American Poets’ Poem-a-day series, among others, and in anthologies including The BreakBeat Poets: New American Poetry in the Age of Hip-Hop, Women of Resistance: Poems for a New Feminism, and New Daughters of Africa. Elhillo has shared her work on platforms such as TEDxNewYork, Under Armour’s Unlike Any campaign, the South African State Theatre, the New Amsterdam Theatre on Broadway, and TV1's Verses & Flow and Maleficent journey.

• ars poetica (MIEL, 2016) • a suite for ol' dirty (MIEL, 2016) • Asmarani (Akashic Books, 2016) • The Life and Times of Susie Knuckles (Well & Often Press, 2012)

In The January Children, Elhillo explores themes of belonging and identity, particularly in the context of migration and nationality. In "Bright Red Fruit", Elhillo explores the complexities of identity and the longing for love using both verse and narrative.

• The January Children (University of Nebraska Press, 2017). • Home Is Not A Country (Penguin Random House, 2021). • Girls That Never Die: Poems (Penguin Random House, 2022). • Bright Red Fruit (Penguin Random House, 2024).