In August’s episode, Rayanne interviews Titilope Sonuga about her new role as Edmonton’s ninth Poet Laureate, the act of shapeshifting as a writer, artist and women, and the importance of hope and healing through poetry in these times. Sonuga’s most recent book, This is How We Disappear is described as an exploration of the physical and emotional disappearance of women and a celebration of the magic of shapeshifting as an act of survival too. In the collection, she deftly uses storytelling as a lens to critique injustice and offer hope.

Titilope Sonuga is a writer, poet, playwright and performer whose work grasps moments of tenderness and persistent joy at the intersection of blackness and womanhood. She is the author of three award-winning collections of poetry, Down to Earth (2011), Abscess (2014), and This Is How We Disappear (2019) and has composed and released two spoken word albums, Mother Tongue (2011) and Swim (2019). Sonuga has written three plays, The Six; an intergenerational exploration of womanhood, Naked; a one-woman play and Ada The Country, a musical. She has scripted global advertising campaigns for brands including; The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, Google, Intel Corporation, Guaranty Trust Bank and The MacArthur Foundation. She was a writer and actor on the hit television series Gidi Up, which aired across Africa. Her writing has been translated into Italian, German and Slovak.