1. When Porsha Olayiwola was a child, her father was abruptly deported to Nigeria, forcing her mother to struggle alone to raise and support Porsha Olayiwola and her siblings.
13 Facts About Porsha Olayiwola
1. 2.
Porsha Olayiwola occasionally writes about the pain of growing up without her father physically present.
3.
Porsha Olayiwola worked as the dean of enrichment at Codman Academy for five years and volunteered at Pine Street Inn, a homeless shelter in Boston.
4.
Porsha Olayiwola holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in African American Studies and Gender and Women Studies from the University of Illinois, Champaign-Urbana, and an MFA from Emerson College.
5.
Porsha Olayiwola is the Artistic Director at Massachusetts Literary Education and Performance, an artistic nonprofit that empowers Massachusetts youth through writing, social justice, and community.
6.
Porsha Olayiwola founded and led the first Roxbury Poetry Festival hosted at Blair Lot in Nubian Square on June 5,2021.
7.
In September 2022, MFA and ICA-featured multimedia artist Stephen Hamilton unveiled a piece he created in Porsha Olayiwola's likeness titled, "Iya Ogun" Acrylic, enamel, and natural dyes and pigments on wood and Hand-woven and hand-dyed fabric.
8.
In 2016, Porsha Olayiwola began a relationship with New York City's former Poet Laureate, Crystal Valentine.
9.
Porsha Olayiwola placed 2nd out of 72 poets at the Women of the World Poetry Slam Denver in 2012.
10.
Porsha Olayiwola competed again, in 2013, at WoWPS Minneapolis and placed 4th out of 72.
11.
In 2014, Porsha Olayiwola won the Individual World Poetry Slam in Phoenix.
12.
In 2016 in Decatur, and again, in 2017 in Denver, House Slam, coached by Porsha Olayiwola, won their way back to the NPS Final Stage and ranked third both years.
13.
Again, in 2018, Porsha Olayiwola coached Mass LEAP's team at Brave New Voices Houston, where they took 4th place overall.