We asked 100+ Greater Cincinnati community members: What does a healthy and thriving community look like to you? Cincinnati’s Poet Laureate, Dr. Yalie Saweda Kamara, wrote and performed a spoken word poem using their responses. Yalie’s beautiful words center on community voice and vision…and call us all to do our part in making this vision a reality.
keep the lights on: a polyvocal poetry project
Written over the span of poetry convenings at COTA High School in February and March, 2024, the polyvocal poem "What Is Love?" was inspired by a series of candid and engaging conversations with students about identity, relationships, life, and vulnerability. This poem represents the nuanced voices, ideas, musings, and creativity of over two dozen students who share, in detail, what love conjures and who, in the end, deserves to bask in its presence.