Mariahdessa Ekere Tallie is a writer, educator, and performer. She has taught writing and performed her poetry in North America, Europe, and Southern Africa. She is the recipient of a 2010 Queens Council on the Arts grant for her research on herbalists of the African Diaspora working in urban and non-traditional settings. Her writing has been published in numerous literary journals and anthologies including Crab Orchard Review, BOMB, Paris/Atlantic, Go, Tell Michelle (SUNY), Listen Up! (One World Ballantine) and Revenge and Forgiveness (Henry Holt). She has appeared on Dutch television and her work has been the subject of a short film “I Leave My Colors Everywhere.” Her first collection of poetry, Karma’s Footsteps, was released by Flipped Eye Publishing in September of 2011. She teaches at York College in New York City.
(You can download Ekere’s full CV here with an exhaustive list of all literary workshops, herbalism workshops, academic conferences and presentations, anthology publications, selected articles and poetry performances.)
ABBREVIATED CURRICULUM VITAE
EDUCATION
PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE
Adjunct Lecturer English Department
York College, Queens, NY Fall 2010-Present
Eng 125: Introduction to College Writing
Instruct students to become critical readers by examining both the content of the text and the tools employed by authors to write effectively. Though classroom discussions my students explore the decisions authors make when they write. Students develop comfort expressing their ideas about literature in essays with a strong thesis.
Eng 200: Introduction to Literature
Encourage students to see the beauty of literature, to place literature in a historical context and to make connections between what they read in class and experience in their personal life. My course involves fiction, essays, poetry, drama, free writes, formal essays and presentations.
Provided individual English instruction to students in the Higher Education Opportunity Program (HEOP). I assisted students with grammar, composition and sourcing for their papers and essays. My students develop critical reading skills through the discussion and analysis of assigned literary works.
Worked with students in the Higher Education Opportunity Program (HEOP) on understanding the writing process, literary analysis and developing public speaking skills. We discussed the work of Nietzche, Baldwin, Cisneros, Plato, Shange, Alexie, Sexton, Kunitz among others.
Managed the Friday, Saturday and Sunday operations at two different locations in Queens, NY. I maintained positive relationships with all vendors and customers. The market served a largely low-income population and it was important to me to engage in talks about health, diet and organic food.
Worked with students in the Higher Education Opportunity Program (HEOP) on understanding the writing process, literary analysis and developing public speaking skills. I anthologized student writing in a chapbook, “Untamed Tongues.”
Taught introductory expository writing and writing the research paper.
Taught grammar, analytical reading, editing and creative writing to two hundred college students weekly as a volunteer with the International Foundation for Education and Self-Help (IFESH).
Taught introductory expository writing.
Worked with after-school students to increase their literacy levels and their comfort expressing themselves through different kinds of writing.
References Available Upon Request
