On 19th April 2026, Ghanaian poet Mariam Mohammed was named the winner of the 2025 Journal of African Youth Literature (JAY Lit) Prize for Poetry for her poem ‘The B(lack)ody as a Map to Self’, published in Issue 9 of the journal.
@jay_literature@mo_mariamm
Story by @nhyira_scribes #cpgnews #creativenews #creativesprojectgh #writersnetwork #Ghanaianwriters
Today I stand on the shoulders of so many: family who believed in me, friends who lifted me, mentors who shaped me and professors who said I could. Thank you to everyone who believed in this dream and walked beside me in this journey. Grateful for who I’ve become and is still becoming.
Here’s to the story yet to come!🧡
📸: @aviella.holtz
Hair by: @laurie_bex
Last week, I was at the University of Tennessee to host a symposium titled “Belonging and resistance: experiences of African international students”. This event is important to me, as I strive to put my community first (and center) in my research. As part of my grant from CPTSC (Council of Programs in Technical and Scientific Communication), I promised to bring back the knowledge I received from the stories of participants to the community, so that we can continue to share to create spaces for stories, feel welcomed and seen.
Thank you to, @gsa_utk for partnering with me on this. Thank you to CPTSC for making this possible. Thank you, Dr. King for your mentorship. Thank you to my friends who supported and cheered for me. Finally, thank you to participants, whose stories I will continue to carry with respect and honor.
Everyone belongs here!🧡
I’m still thinking about all the wonderful memories from the past 4 days in Knoxville, as I write this on my plane back to Michigan.
I had the chance to co-present on the performances of negotiations among international students with one of my colleagues at NEXUS (My first conference ever in 2023!) As always, the research was so well received. We came away with plenty of thoughtful feedback to sit with and build on.
The hugs, love, and support I felt throughout made it easy to forget just how tired I am right now. I’m so grateful for that and for Knoxville feeling like home every time I’m there. Thank you to my friends, professors and everyone for making time for me.
Also, I got a copy of Decolonial Possibilities ! I can’t wait to read it🥳💃🏽
@mo_mariamm takes ‘Research Methods’’ in Art of Fiction Workshops.
All writers around the world are welcome to sign up!
📅 Date: June 5th
📍 Format: Virtual
It is FREE.
Spaces are limited to ensure an engaging and interactive experience, so we encourage you to sign up early.
If you have any questions, feel free to reach out to us via comments.
We’re happy to help.
#writershelpingwriters #writersofinsta #amwriting #fictionwriter #explorepage✨
Mariam Mohammed is collaborating with the Ghana Students Association (GSA) to host a symposium as part of her grant from the Council of Programs in Technical and Scientific Communication (CPTSC). Looking forward to an inspiring event filled with ideas, culture, and community!
This is an impromptu post. I received a lot of scholarly love this weekend & wanted to spread the excitement!💃🏽
1. I got teary yesterday when my dear friend, @the_mountain_scholar shared with @ewood_scully and I that she will be including my article and poems in her prospectus! This kind of scholarly love!🥹
2 &3. I recently joined Communication Design Quarterly (CDQ) journal as their Assistant Editor! It’s been an honor to work with amazing people there! Send your work to us✨
4. I have been quiet about this since last year, August because somehow, I felt announcing it will mean I’ve finally left UTK. Today’s a good day to say I’m so grateful for this award and it means SO much to me, as someone who was scared and anxious to teach my own class. I appreciate all the mentorship I received.
5 &6. I woke up to good news! Jaylit shortlisted my poem! This poem means a lot to me. I can remember how the first line came to me & the memories I poured into it. Read it: /two-poems-2/
7. I will be presenting on a work so dear to my heart at SIGDOC! I can’t wait!
I had a wonderful time this past week at CCCC. Considering how big this conference is, I was expecting it to be extremely overwhelming. However, I found my people even amidst the noise. I spent 4 hours or more talking with my advisor and mentor, @lisakingtn and @madinathelove after getting lunch. Being able to sit and laugh with someone I look up to was the highlight of my experience. In addition, I have been inspired by the wonderful work people are doing, I met some of the people I cite in my work, I met the kind reviewer, Dr. Arzu-Carmichael, who mentored me during the process of publishing my first first-author article. I met new people who I plan to keep close. I received a lot of warm hugs from people I admire and love. I had “big” ideas for works that I’m capable of doing. I had a good time with my cohort at MSU & laughed a lot. My dear colleague, Jolie picked Gonzales’ book for me because she knew I’d love it! I enjoyed the trip back and forth because Johana was kind enough to drive us. There was a lot of love and support at CCCC.
@mo_mariamm is on our 2025 honoree list 🔥
Mariam Mohammed is a Ph.D. student at MSU in the Writing, Rhetoric, and Cultures department. Her research focuses mainly on examining race, language, identity, mental health, storytelling and belonging. Her poems have been published in The Phoenix Literary Arts Magazine, Journal of African Youth Literature, Contemporary Ghanaian Writers Series, The Ghana Poetry Festival Anthology and elsewhere.
—-
Image credit: belongs to credit owner.
—-
#cpg100 #100notableGhanaians #ghanacreatives #ghana #creativesofinstagram
2 years ago (I’d bet it was around this time of the year), I wrote a poem for myself because there was a lot of things I un/re/learned about being in America. I spoke to one of my friends, @bookishbabeforlife and wrote “Homesickness” after the conversation. For one of our classes, Prof. Eady asked us to write an Origin poem and I wrote, “From Where Do I Come?
Today, I raced through the snow to pick up a heating fan & guess what? I was handed a book-like package instead. I did not get my fan delivered, but I felt extra warmth when I remembered how @maggierue_ had encouraged me to submit my poem/s to @redbranchreview and how our poems are next to each other’s.
Thank you @redbranchreview for giving home to some fond memories I have in Knoxville. Alas, it’s a chilly night but I don’t have to clutch to my name or a pillow. My heart is on fire because of my sweet friends & family!🧡
