Biography

Mariahadessa Ekere Tallie is a poet, writer, educator, New Yorker and world-wanderer.  Her poetry and fiction have been published in several journals including: Crab Orchard Review, Bomb,  Long Shot, Paris/Atlantic, Drumvoices Revue, and Carapace. Her works have been anthologized in Listen Up! (One World/Ballantine), Catch The Fire!!! (Penguin/ Putnam), Bum Rush The Page: A Def Poetry Jam (Random House), Role Call ( Third World Press), Beyond The Frontier (Black Classic Press), The Body Eclectic (Henry Holt), Revenge and Forgiveness (Henry Holt), and The Book of Hope (Beyond Borders). Ekere is a Staff Writer for African Voices literary magazine where she has worked since 1995. She performs her poetry regularly—sometimes collaborating with musicians and dancers— and has been a featured reader at the Poetry Café (London), Palabras (Holland), CrimeJazz (Holland) the De Nachten Festivals (Holland/Belgium), the Nuyorican Poets Cafe, Brooklyn Moon Cafe, Rutgers University, Hunter College, Barnes and Noble, Bryant Park, Mills College, and the Brooklyn Public library. Ekere has  taught English and conducted creative writing workshops in London , Amsterdam , New York , Chicago , and Rundu ( Namibia ). She has also spoken about issues pertaining to sexual assault against women at Ramapo College and University of Milwaukee . In 1999, she was awarded an artist’s residency at Fundacion Valparaiso in Almeria, Spain.  

Education

Master of Fine Arts English/Creative Writing Mills College, Dec 2001
Ploughshares International Writing Seminar Kasteel Well, Netherlands Emerson College, 1998
Bachelor of Arts, Mass Communication Clark Atlanta University, 1996