# Safia Elhillo

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Sudanese-American poet (born 1990)

Safia Elhillo صافية الحلو Elhillo by Caits Meissner for Jellyfish Treasury Born (1990-12-16) December 16, 1990 (age 35) Rockville, Maryland, United States Education New York University (BA) The New School (MFA) Occupation Poet Website safia-mafia.com/tagged/main

**Safia Elhillo** ([Arabic](/source/Arabic_language): صافية الحلو; born December 16, 1990) is a [Sudanese-American](/source/Sudanese-American) poet known for her written and spoken poetry. Elhillo received a BA degree from the [Gallatin School](/source/Gallatin_School_of_Individualized_Study) at [New York University](/source/New_York_University) and an MFA in poetry from [The New School](/source/The_New_School). Elhillo has performed all around the world. She has won acclaim for her work and has been the recipient of several prestigious poetry awards.[1] Elhillo has shared the stage with notable poets such as [Sonia Sanchez](/source/Sonia_Sanchez) and has taught at [Split This Rock](/source/Split_This_Rock)[2] and [Tin House](/source/Tin_House) Summer Workshop.[3]

## Early life

Elhillo was born on December 16, 1990, in [Rockville, Maryland](/source/Rockville%2C_Maryland), to Sudanese parents.[4] She was raised [Muslim](/source/Muslim).[5]

## Career

Her poems have appeared in many publications, including *[Poetry](/source/Poetry_(magazine))*, *[Callaloo](/source/Callaloo_(journal))*, and the [Academy of American Poets](/source/Academy_of_American_Poets)’ Poem-a-day series,[6] among others, and in anthologies including *The BreakBeat Poets: New American Poetry in the Age of Hip-Hop*, *Women of Resistance: Poems for a New Feminism*,[1] and *[New Daughters of Africa](/source/Daughters_of_Africa#New_Daughters_of_Africa)*.[7]

Elhillo has shared her work on platforms such as TEDxNewYork,[8][9] [Under Armour](/source/Under_Armour)’s *Unlike Any* campaign,[10][11] the [South African State Theatre](/source/South_African_State_Theatre), the [New Amsterdam Theatre](/source/New_Amsterdam_Theatre) on Broadway, and TV1's *Verses & Flow and Maleficent journey*.

## Awards

Elhillo has been nominated for the [Pushcart Prize](/source/Pushcart_Prize), receiving special mention for the 2016 Pushcart Prize.[12] She was a co-winner of the 2015 [Brunel University African Poetry Prize](/source/Brunel_University_African_Poetry_Prize), won the 2016 Sillerman First Book Prize for African Poets, and has received fellowships and residencies from [Cave Canem](/source/Cave_Canem), The Conversation,[13] and SPACE on Ryder Farm, among others. Her collection *The January Children* won a 2018 [Arab American Book Award](/source/Arab_American_Book_Award), receiving the George Ellenbogen Poetry Award,[14] the first Sudanese American author to win the award.[15] In 2018, she was also listed in *[Forbes Africa](/source/Forbes_Africa)*'s "30 Under 30" in the Creatives category.[16] Elhillo received a 2018 Ruth Lilly and Dorothy Sargent Rosenberg Fellowship from [the Poetry Foundation](/source/The_Poetry_Foundation).[17]

From 2019 to 2021, she was a Wallace Stegner Fellow at [Stanford University](/source/Stanford_University).[18] In 2025, Elhillo's *Bright Red Fruit* was a [Michael L. Printz Award](/source/Michael_L._Printz_Award) honor book.[19]

## Works

### Full-length collections

- *The January Children* (University of Nebraska Press, 2017).

- *Home Is Not A Country* (Penguin Random House, 2021).

- *Girls That Never Die: Poems* (Penguin Random House, 2022).

- *Bright Red Fruit* (Penguin Random House, 2024).

### Chapbooks

- *ars poetica* (MIEL, 2016)

- *a suite for ol' dirty* (MIEL, 2016)

- *Asmarani* (Akashic Books, 2016)

- *The Life and Times of Susie Knuckles* (Well & Often Press, 2012)

### Themes

In *The January Children*, Elhillo explores themes of belonging and identity, particularly in the context of migration and nationality.[13] In "Bright Red Fruit", Elhillo explores the complexities of identity and the longing for love using both verse and narrative.[20]

## References

1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-bio_1-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-bio_1-1) Elhillo, Safia, ["Bio"](http://safia-mafia.com/bio), Safia-Mafia website, 2017. Retrieved March 20, 2017.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-2)** Elhillo, Safia, ["Safia Elhillo-Poetry"](https://asusjournal.org/issue-2/safia-elhillo-poetry/), *As Us Journal*, 2017. Retrieved March 19, 2017.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-3)** ["Summer Workshop"](https://web.archive.org/web/20240614065306/https://tinhouse.com/workshop/summer-workshop-2/). *Tin House*. Archived from [the original](https://tinhouse.com/workshop/summer-workshop-2/) on June 14, 2024. Retrieved June 14, 2024.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-4)** ["'Daughters full of all the wrong language'"](https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p02wn8l7), *Newsday*, BBC World Service, July 9, 2015.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-5)** Elhillo, Safia. ["Good Muslim/Bad Muslim"](https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poetrymagazine/articles/149571/good-muslim-bad-muslim). *Poetry Magazine*. Poetry Foundation.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-6)** Elhillo, Safia, ["how to say"](https://www.poets.org/poetsorg/poem/how-say) at poets.org.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-7)** ["Podcast #8: Safia Elhillo"](https://haveyouread.de/podcast-8-safia-elhillo/). *Have Your Read … ?*. September 23, 2019.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-8)** ["Performances"](http://www.tedxnewyork.com/2014/) [Archived](https://web.archive.org/web/20180620024223/http://www.tedxnewyork.com/2014/) June 20, 2018, at the [Wayback Machine](/source/Wayback_Machine), TEDxNewYork.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-9)** ["'Alien Suite' | Safia Elhillo | TEDxNewYork"](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_fkhC_FLUDA), YouTube, January 15, 2015.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-10)** Mirabella, Lorraine (February 6, 2018). ["Under Armour unveils Lindsey Vonn film ahead of Olympics"](https://www.baltimoresun.com/business/bs-bz-under-armour-lindsey-vonn-olympics-20180206-story.html). *[Baltimore Sun](/source/Baltimore_Sun)*.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-11)** ["Lindsey Vonn – Unlike Any"](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=maSCeWF424k). YouTube.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-12)** ["Awards & Recognition"](http://www.onethrone.com/awards), *One Throne Magazine*.

1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-brooklynrail.org_13-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-brooklynrail.org_13-1) ["Everything Lost Will Be Given a Name: SAFIA ELHILLO with Alex Dueben"](https://brooklynrail.org/2017/10/books/Everything-Lost-Will-Be-Given-a-Name-Safia-Elhillo-with-Alex-Dueben). *The Brooklyn Rail*. October 5, 2017. Retrieved December 16, 2017.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-14)** ["2018 Arab American Book Award Winners"](http://www.arabamericanmuseum.org/2018.book.award.winners) [Archived](https://web.archive.org/web/20190321152340/http://www.arabamericanmuseum.org/2018.book.award.winners) March 21, 2019, at the [Wayback Machine](/source/Wayback_Machine), Arab American National Museum.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-15)** [Edoro, Ainehi](/source/Ainehi_Edoro) (November 12, 2018). ["On Black and Arab Identities: Safia Elhillo's Arab American Book Awards Acceptance Speech"](https://brittlepaper.com/2018/11/safia-elhillo-takes-question-blackness-arab-identity/). *[Brittle Paper](/source/Brittle_Paper)*.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-16)** ["Under 30 Creatives"](https://www.forbesafrica.com/30-under-30/2018/06/04/under-30-creatives/) [Archived](https://web.archive.org/web/20180712004930/https://www.forbesafrica.com/30-under-30/2018/06/04/under-30-creatives/) July 12, 2018, at the [Wayback Machine](/source/Wayback_Machine), *Forbes Africa*, June 4, 2018.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-17)** ["Poetry Foundation Announces 2018 Ruth Lilly and Dorothy Sargent Rosenberg Poetry Fellowships"](https://www.poetryfoundation.org/foundation/press/147758/poetry-foundation-announces-2018-ruth-lilly-and-dorothy-sargent-rosenberg-poetry-fellowships), Poetry Foundation, August 28, 2018.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-18)** ["Former Stegner Fellows"](https://creativewriting.stanford.edu/stegner-fellowship/meet-stegner-fellows/former-stegner-fellows). *Stanford University*. Retrieved April 16, 2025.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-19)** ["American Library Association announces 2025 Youth Media Award winners"](https://www.ala.org/news/2025/01/american-library-association-announces-2025-youth-media-award-winners). *[American Library Association](/source/American_Library_Association)*. January 27, 2025. Retrieved January 30, 2025.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-20)** ["Bright Red Fruit"](https://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/safia-elhillo/bright-red-fruit/). *[Kirkus Reviews](/source/Kirkus_Reviews)*. November 17, 2023. Retrieved January 30, 2025.

## External links

- [Official website](http://safia-mafia.com/tagged/main)

- ["Writer Safia Elhillo talks representation, inspiration, and the heterogeneity of her identity"](https://african.macmillan.yale.edu/news/writer-safia-elhillo-talks-representation-inspiration-and-heterogeneity-her-identity), Council on African Studies, Yale MacMillan Center, November 13, 2017.

- [Poets.org Profile](https://www.poets.org/poetsorg/poet/safia-elhillo)

Authority control databases International ISNI VIAF WorldCat National United States Italy Israel Other Open Library Yale LUX

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Safia Elhillo](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Safia_Elhillo) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Safia_Elhillo?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.