Porsha Olayiwola

Porsha Olayiwola (/ˈpɔɹʃəː ˈəʊl ˌji.wɔ ː lɑː/ por-shuh o-la-yi-war-la; born June 11, 1988) is a Black American poet based in Boston, Massachusetts.

[6][7] When speaking to Boston Hassle about how she discovered performance poetry, Olayiwola stated, “I used to write all kinds of things when I was in middle school.

[10][11] She worked as the dean of enrichment at Codman Academy for five years and volunteered at Pine Street Inn, a homeless shelter in Boston.

[19] Olayiwola founded and led the first Roxbury Poetry Festival hosted at Blair Lot in Nubian Square on June 5, 2021.

[20][21] In September 2022, MFA and ICA-featured multimedia artist Stephen Hamilton unveiled a piece he created in Olayiwola's likeness titled, “Iya Ogun” Acrylic, enamel, and natural dyes and pigments on wood and Hand-woven and hand-dyed fabric.

[25][26] In November 2022, The Boston Globe announced that Olayiwola and Bing Broderick would create a bookstore in Fields Corner that would be “culturally curated, radically influenced, and locally inspired.” They plan to open the store by the fall of 2023.

In 2017, she coached Mass LEAP's team at BNV Bay Area, which placed 2nd overall, and earned a spot performing on final stage for 3,200 people at the San Francisco Opera House.