Yvonne Fly Onakeme Etaghene

Yvonne Fly Onakeme Etaghene is an Ijaw and Urhobo Nigerian dyke performance activist, poet, dancer, essayist, playwright, actress, video blogger and mixed media visual artist who was born with a mouth full of dynamite and sugarcane. She uses her poetry to chisel a verbal sculpture of her soul for listeners while addressing issues of race, ethnicity, class, gender, sexuality, war, imperialism, love, self-esteem and family. Etaghene has self-published three collections of poetry, toured nationally and performed in over 30 u.s. cities. She was interviewed by and was a Contributing Writer to None on Record: Stories of Queer Africa, a sound documentary project that collects the stories of QLGBT Africans from the African Continent and the Diaspora. She has toured nationally with her multi-media one-woman show, Volcano’s Birthright{s}. Etaghene is a mixed-media visual artist who has produced 4 solo art exhibitions. In June 2012, Etaghene founded Sugarcane, an LGBTQ Of Color writing workshop based in the principles of June Jordan’s Poetry for the People.

Etaghene has written and directed 2 poem videos (“The First Time” [2010] and “i deserve somebody” [2011]) that marry film, poetry and music. Etaghene has self-published 3 chapbooks of poetry: afrocrown: fierce poetry (2000),write or die (2004) and tongue twisted transcontinental sista (2006.) She independently released an album of poetry and music entitled liberty avenue, nigeria, usa (2004.) She has shared stages with Amina Baraka, Bonfire Madigan, Sharon Bridgforth, Staceyann Chin, climbing poeTree, Invincible, DJ Kuttin Kandi, Lenelle Moïse, DJ Moni, Queen GodIs, Ongina Ryan, Hanifah Walidah & innumerable other brilliant magic-makers.

Beneath My Hands

by Leonard Cohen

Beneath my hands
your small breasts
are the upturned bellies
of breathing fallen sparrows.
Wherever you move
I hear the sounds of closing wings
of falling wings.
I am speechless
because you have fallen beside me
because your eyelashes
are the spines of tiny fragile animals.
I dread the time
when your mouth
begins to call me hunter.
When you call me close
to tell me
your body is not beautiful
I want to summon
the eyes and hidden mouths
of stone and light and water
to testify against you.
I want them
to surrender before you
the trembling rhyme of your face
from their deep caskets.
When you call me close
to tell me
your body is not beautiful
I want my body and my hands
to be pools
for your looking and laughing.

One of the Traps

by Alice Walker

from Absolute Trust in the Goodness of the Earth

One of the worst traps

Is finding yourself

Despising someone

Really good.

There they are

Wearing a miniskirt

Talking dirty

But washing

The filthy

Feeding the hungry

Defending

The poor

Befriending the dead

& all you can

Say in your

Defense

Is

Their bleached hair

& studded

Nostril

Hardly goes

With so much

Leg.

To Be a Woman

by Alice Walker

from Absolute Trust in the Goodness of the Earth

To be a woman

Does not mean

To wear

A shroud;

The Feminine

Is not

Dead

Nor is she

Sleeping

Angry, yes,

Seething, yes.

Biding her time;

Yes.

Yes.