Welcome to the second of four posts introducing the writers who’ve created poems for Nicollet Lanterns: Moheb Soliman, Sagirah Shahid, Junauda Petrus and R. Vincent Moniz, Jr. (Nu’Eta).

Sagirah Shahid is a writer, poet, and teacher. An African American Muslim Feminist, she uses spoken word and literary work to build community and to advocate for positive social change.

In her proposal to create poems for Nicollet Lanterns, Shahid wrote:

I often explore themes surrounding identity because it is my hope that in sharing the nuances of my own personal identity I can empower anyone else out there in the world who feels invisible or misrepresented to share their own stories. … my goal would be to create poems… that reflect upon Minneapolis’ diversity and that capture the essence of the invisible voices of Minneapolis.

Read about this emerging poet’s unique voice in excerpts from an engaging interview.