Yalie Saweda Kamara

Yalie Saweda Kamara is a Sierra Leonean American poet, professor, and researcher based in Cincinnati, originally from Oakland, California. She teaches English at Xavier University. Her debut full-length collection, Besaydoo, won the 2022-2023 Jake Adam York Prize, co-sponsored by Copper Nickel and Milkweed Editions, and was published by Milkweed in 2024. She served as Cincinnati's Poet Laureate for 2022-2024 and was reappointed for a third year.