Shailja Patel

@shailjapatel
22 Followers
0 Following
1 Posts
Author of MIGRITUDE. Queer Kenyan whistleblower. She/her. @guardianopinion @AJEnglish @Bbcworld @paythewriter http://www.shailja.com

"Everything we write
will be used against us
or against those we love.
These are the terms,
take them or leave them.
Poetry never stood a chance
of standing outside history.
One line typed twenty years ago
can be blazed on a wall in spraypaint
glorify art as detachment
or torture of those we
did not love but also
did not want to kill

"We move but our words stand become responsible
and this is verbal privilege"

-- Adrienne Rich, "North American Time"