by Admin | Feb 6, 2026 | Latest, ShesheSlam
An author, cultural connector, and poet whose work bridges diasporic worlds
Ehalakasa is pleased to welcome Karla Brundage as a jury member for SheShe Slam 2026, the fifth edition of our women led slam poetry platform dedicated to artistic excellence, cultural depth, and community rooted storytelling.
Karla Brundage is an award winning author, editor, teacher, and cultural practitioner whose expansive work spans continents, genres, and generations. She is most widely known for her prize winning poetry collection Blood Lies: Race Trait(or) which interrogates race, identity, history, and belonging with both intellectual rigor and lyrical force. Through her writing and public projects, she consistently invites readers and communities into difficult yet transformative conversations about how language, history, and power shape human lives.
But Brundage’s influence extends far beyond the page into the world of collaborative cultural exchange. She is the founder of the West Oakland to West Africa Poetry Exchange, a visionary project that grew out of her long standing belief in poetry as a place of healing, connection, and mutual human recognition. Initially sparked during her years living and teaching abroad in Côte d’Ivoire, she partnered with local poets like Sir Black to imagine what a sustained creative dialogue between poets in the United States and West Africa might look like. Through weekly epistolary exchanges, workshops, and collaborative forms such as renshi, the project brought poets of diverse ages, identities, and backgrounds together to share work that culminated in international gatherings, published anthologies, and deep bonds across oceans.
These exchanges have produced several books and anthologies, including Our Spirits Carry Our Voices, Black Rootedness: 54 Poets from Africa to America, and Sisters Across Oceans the latter conceived as a collective conversation among women across the African diaspora that uses linked poetic forms to explore identity, resilience, and shared histories.
Karla’s vision is rooted in the idea that poetry is not simply performance or text, but a living practice something that lives in community gatherings, written exchanges, classrooms, festivals, and shared spaces of cultural belonging. She has taught internationally in Zimbabwe and West Africa, directed reading series, and curated anthologies that give space to voices too often marginalized in dominant literary spaces. Her work appears in a wide range of journals, magazines, and anthologies, and she has been recognized through Pushcart Prize nominations and features on radio and public literary platforms.
In Blood Lies: Race Trait(or), Brundage takes on the complexities of racial categorization, genealogical legacy, and personal narrative. Through rich poetic investigation, she unpacks terms like mulatto, octoroon, and quadroon not just as historical curiosities but as lived realities that shape personal identity and collective memory. Her book embodies an urgent intellectual curiosity one that embraces nuance without sacrificing emotional clarity.
What makes Karla’s contribution particularly valuable to SheShe Slam and the broader Ehalakasa community is her grounded approach to poetry as lived practice. She sees poetry as a tool for cultural reckoning, intergenerational dialogue, and global artistic solidarity not merely as entertainment or competitive sport. Her work is grounded in real communities, social history, and cultural continuity rather than abstraction or performance alone, making her presence on the jury both enriching and aligned with the ethos of SheShe Slam.
As SheShe Slam enters its fifth edition, Ehalakasa continues to prioritize jurors whose perspectives strengthen the integrity of the platform and support the growth of women poets beyond the stage and into lasting cultural influence.
We are honoured to welcome Karla Brundage into the SheShe Slam 2026 journey a testament to the power of poetry to heal, to connect, and to forge new cultural pathways.
by Admin | Aug 10, 2025 | Artist Corner, Events, Latest, Pro.Files, Slam
Ehalakasa’s National Poetry Slam Prelims ignite the race to represent Ghana on the global stage in 2026.
Accra, Ghana, August 9, 2025 The British Council Hall was alive with rhythm, rhyme, and raw emotion as 26 of Ghana’s finest spoken word artists battled for a coveted place in the National Poetry Slam Final. By night’s end, only 16 emerged victorious, inching closer to the ultimate prize the honour of representing Ghana at the 2026 World Poetry Slam Championship in South Africa.
In a contest where every syllable counted, Poema and Kwabena Prah led the charge with 26 points each, delivering performances that married precision with passion. Following closely were the equally captivating Whinna Yentem, Soyo Vi Zibo, Baby Poet, and Teliba, each securing 24 points and a joint third-place finish.
The list of finalists reflects a diverse blend of voices, from seasoned veterans to rising stars. Each poet brought their own lens to the stage, offering perspectives that cut across identity, politics, love, resilience, and social change.
“It’s more than just poetry. It’s a movement, a platform, and a chance to carry Ghana’s voice to the world,”said an Ehalakasa representative after the event.
The competition now shifts to the National Poetry Slam Final on November 1, 2025, where the stakes will be higher, the verses sharper, and the spotlight brighter. From that night, one poet will wear the national crown — and with it, the responsibility of championing Ghana’s slam poetry on the world stage.
Qualified Poets for the National Final (Top 16):
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Poema (26)
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Kwabena Prah (26)
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Whinna Yentem (24)
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Soyo Vi Zibo (24)
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Baby Poet (24)
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Teliba (24)
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Jay (23)
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The Town Crier (23)
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Beyanus (23)
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Nesty Brown (23)
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Kobby Wright (22)
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Leo (22)
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Evans Narh (22)
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Sabway Lyfstyle (22)
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Napare (22)
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Ueezy (22)
With the preliminaries concluded, the countdown begins. Who will rise on November 1st to carry Ghana’s poetic spirit to the world in 2026?
by Admin | Aug 8, 2025 | Artist Corner, Events, Latest, Pro.Files, Slam
Ueezy de Poet, also known as Herman Jatoe, is not here for applause. He’s here to disrupt. To shake the silence. To put a rhythm to the realities so many try to avoid.
Emerging from the raw edges of Ghana’s urban storylines, Ueezy is part of a bold new poetic generation that doesn’t perform for validation it performs for truth. And that truth is often uncomfortable, unfiltered, and urgent.
His words cut through expectations like a hot blade through butter sharp, swift, and deliberate. Behind his bright smile lies a mind that has mastered the metaphor and a heart that knows how to make every syllable land like a fist or a feather depending on the moment.
On August 9th, 2025, at 6 PM at the British Council, Ueezy will take the mic at the Ehalakasa National Poetry Slam Prelims. The room may not be ready. But he is.
Whether he’s unpacking identity, spinning street slang into scripture, or challenging societal myths, Ueezy doesn’t just speak poems he lives them.
The slam stage is about voice, grit, presence and Ueezy de Poet brings all three in generous supply. This isn’t a performance. It’s a prophecy in progress.
by Admin | Aug 8, 2025 | Artist Corner, Events, Latest, Pro.Files, Slam
There are voices. And then there is Maame Rasta a cultural flame wrapped in fabric, fire, and fierce honesty.
Stepping into the Ehalakasa National Poetry Slam Prelims 2025 with the full power of her persona, Maame Rasta is more than a poet—she’s an institution. From her bold Afrocentric fashion to her defiant gaze, she commands attention before the mic is even on.
Set for 6 PM, August 9th at the British Council, this year’s prelims are already buzzing but Maame Rasta’s appearance has added a whole new layer of anticipation.
Unfiltered. Radical. Grounded. She embodies everything poetry was always meant to be: a rebellion with rhythm, a truth-telling drumbeat. Her voice is not just performance it is protest. A cry for justice wrapped in metaphor. A matriarchal wisdom that slices through noise. A spiritual chant rising from ancestral ground.
In a space where artists often chase applause, Maame Rasta reminds us: the stage is sacred, and words are weapons.
She enters the arena not to impress but to ignite to stir the embers of memory, history, and possibility. In her presence, poetry feels less like art and more like invocation.
This is no ordinary prelim. This is Maame Rasta’s roar. And Ghana will hear it.
by Admin | Aug 8, 2025 | Artist Corner, Events, Latest, Pro.Files, Slam
Some poets write to entertain. Others to provoke thought. Dorneh Rhymez does both often in the same breath.
A master of wordplay and wit, Dorneh wields poetry like a craftsman’s tool shaping verses that amuse, challenge, and endure. His work is a blend of mirror and megaphone: holding up a reflection to the world while amplifying the questions we sometimes avoid.
“I want my poetry to linger,” he says. “It can be lighthearted, but it should always leave a shadow of thought behind.”
From light jabs of humor to hard-hitting social commentary, Dorneh’s lines walk the fine line between art and advocacy. His captivating storytelling invites listeners in, while his clever puns make them stay longer than they planned.
In a world of fleeting attention, Dorneh Rhymez knows how to earn it and keep it. His poetry doesn’t just live in the moment; it travels home with you, quietly echoing long after the applause fades.
Whether on a bustling stage or in an intimate reading circle, he delivers words that connect, challenge, and charm proof that poetry can be both playful and powerful.
