Motherland | Poetry Northwest

The sixth collection in the Seattle Youth Poet Laureate Series, Motherland is a breathtaking exploration of womanhood and blackness framed by family, immigration, and history. Giday blends lyric and experimentation to bring her experiences as a first-generation Ethiopian American to life and asks insightful, difficult questions about how we all experience the world. Her combination of traditional storytelling and contemporary influence infuses her poems with a conscious power wielded to invoke the reader’s reflection, consideration, and awareness.

Bitaniya Giday is a first-generation Ethiopian American residing in Seattle. Her writing explores the nuances of womanhood and blackness, as she reflects upon her family’s path of immigration across the world. She hopes to restore and safeguard the past, present, and future histories of her people through traditional storytelling and poetry.

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