The Metro: Poetry’s impact across cultures, explained by an Iraqi American poet
Arab American poet Wafaa Mustafa speaks with The Metro’s Tia Graham about what this moment in time is like for Arab Americans and how simple visibility isn’t the goal.
Wafaa Mustafa is an Iraqi poet from Dearborn, MI, and a graduate of Wayne State University, where she studied english and philosophy. She is a teaching artist with InsideOut Literary Arts.
Moments like right now in our world is when art becomes more than expression. It acts as a witness to history to conflict and to triumphs. During times of conflict across parts of the Middle East, voices from those with deep cultural and personal ties to the region carry a particular weight, grounded in lived experience, memory, and identity.
Wafaa Mustafa is an Iraqi American poet from Dearborn and a teaching artist working with InsideOut Literary Arts. She is also a mentor with the Arab American National Museum Teen Writing Fellowship.
As an Arab American artist, her voice sits at the intersection of culture and history. It offers reflection in a time when many are searching for deeper understanding.
In this conversation, Wafaa spoke with The Metro’s Tia Graham about identity, and what it means to hold space for youth voices in this moment.
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