Uchechi Kalu definitely succeeds in exemplifying the definition of a poet offered by the famous Sufi poet Hafiz, as “someone who can pour light into a spoon, then raise it to nourish our beautiful parched mouths.

 Busboys and Poets Bookstore, Washington, DC 

Hey, I’m Uchechi

I use language to tell powerful stories. I do this through technology, public speaking and poetry.

I blog about the connection between creativity and resilience. I write about resilience for creative entrepreneurs to help them step more fully into their life impact because I know that building creative resilience helped me figure out what was next when I felt completely lost.

See my most recent TED talk:

An award nominated poet, entrepreneur, speaker and tech CEO with geographic connections from Nigeria to Mexico, Uchechi Kalu has become a strong voice in the community of global African writers and entrepreneurs. Released in 2006, her first book (Flowers Blooming Against A Bruised Grey Sky) was hailed as “a masterful debut that read nothing like a first time offering.”  She studied creative writing at UC Berkeley, where she was mentored by the late poet June Jordan. In 2017, she gave her first TEDx talk on the power of nuance, and continues to speak at conferences and literary events.