“If you’re meant to write, you can’t escape it.”

TJ Dema, a Botswana-based poet and current University of Iowa International Writing Program fellow, came to UNL last week to give a spoken word performance and Q&A (during which she made the titular pronouncement). Dema runs Sauti Arts and Performance Management managing contemporary and traditional poets, vocalists, and instrumentalists. She has performed for a number of African heads of state, been commissioned to write for Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee, and shared poetry in France, Denmark, India, South Africa, Zimbabwe and Malawi as well as her home country. 

You can also check out Dema’s essay on the state of the womb for the recent issue of FUSION!