I.A. Podcast

In this podcast episode, I interview Shah Noor Hussein, based in California. They are a writer, visual artist, educator, scholar, and a badass queer Sudanese person. Their focus are on black feminism, art, writing, and teaching. Their poetry has been featured in the LA Review of Books (2020), Umber (2019), and CUNJUH (2017). Also, some incredible poems were performed at the Museum of the African Diaspora (2020), Berkeley Art Museum & Pacific Film Archive (2018), and the African American Arts & Culture Complex (2018). They teach and lead writing workshops. They are the managing editor for the journal The Arrow. Their research cultural work aims to (re)center marginalized voices in dialogues on alternative epistemologies and cultural reproduction through a multimedia study of popular culture and women's music called Aghani Al Banat, “Girls Music,” in their home country of Sudan. 

Follow Shah on Instagram and Twitter: @shah__noor 

Happy International Day of Persons with Disabilities (#IDPD)! 

In this podcast episode, I interview Rikki Poynter who is a public speaker, writer, content creator, and streamer. She is an advocate for accessibility for those with disabilities. She speaks about her deafness, body positivity, chronic pain, mental health, child abuse awareness, bisexuality, and so much more. She began her YouTube career in July 2010, eventually, she spoke about being deaf. She is known to be a strong advocate of providing proper closed captioning on YouTube. She formed the closed captioning campaign called #NoMoreCRAPtions to bring awareness about accessibility for the deaf community.

In this podcast episode, I speak about the current military coup that has been happening in Sudan and still is going on to bring more awareness. Please check out the links below for up-to-date accurate information. Feel free to ask me any questions about this and on how to help. Take care!    

I have been getting this question a lot and thought to just speak about it on here. Also, to share how much poetry, writing, and reading (along with music) has impacted me personally. Happy writing! 

Resources: 

Gladys Shahtou, also known as the Sudanese food ambassador, is the founder and chef of Sambuxa NYC. This is a food business located in New York City that serves sweet and savory Sudanese samosas, along with other tasty options. Gladys has been cooking since she was eight years old alongside her mother and grandmother. When she moved to America from Switzerland, she noticed the lack of representation in Sudanese cuisine, so she saw the opportunity to do something about this while incorporating her other passion in politics as well. 

Check out her website and menu:

In this episode, I speak with Mohamed Ahmed who is Osman Ahmed’s older brother. Osman, a British-Sudanese 18 year old, was murdered by the Sudanese army. We discuss the injustice happening in Sudan and ways to make a better change for the future of Sudan. Please check out the links below to learn more about what's happening and to bring awareness to others.   

Nihal Mubarak is a Sudanese-American poet, storyteller, and educator who obtained her MFA in creative writing from Emerson College. Currently, she teaches college level English and creative writing. Nihal’s writings include important themes, such as home-life, African diaspora, and social justice. Check out her poetry and fiction works in the Sudanese Poetics Archive, Arkana Magazine, Solidago, The Gordian Review, Copper Nickel, Mizna, and on her social media.

Attend her upcoming class/workshop:

In this episode, I talk about my Youtube channel, how I started, and food justice. This is a little behind the scenes about my channel and some of my goals so far.

The mission of the Sudan Art and Design Library is to provide free and open access to materials and services to people of different ages and backgrounds.

.إن مهمة مكتبة السودان للفنون و التصميم هي توفير وصول مجاني و مفتوح لمواد و خدمات لأشخاص من أعمار و خلفيات مختلفة

Check out our website for more information:

Happy National Poetry Month! 

It's Deaf History Month so I thought to talk about types of deafness, deaf history, deaf culture, and audism in this episode to bring awareness. Also, to speak about my personal experiences as a black deaf/hearing impaired person in America and my experiences with listening and creating music.

Lesley Williams has worked as a Librarian for almost thirty years. She was known as the first full-time African-American Librarian at Evanston Public Library. In this episode, Lesley and I communicated about the importance of diversifying American Libraries when it comes to all diverse backgrounds in all communities, such as race, age, religion, disability, LGBTQ+, and many others.      

In this episode, I speak about my own experiences and others on topics related to anti-blackness within the Arab community and colorism in society.  

**Disclaimer: Yes not ALL Arabs and yes this sadly happens in ANY community/country.  

Introduction about who I am & what I am about. Be patient with me I’m still learning how to podcast. I started this podcast because I have a lot to say about a lot of things. Buckle up & listen in!