On November 6, Minnesota Public Radio featured a story about Sadiya Mohamed, a young Somalian woman living in Minneapolis, and her challenges with living in a new culture. She discusses learning English and how that has changed her sense of home and freedom. One of her successes in learning the new language was winning her school Poetry Out Loud competition. Here is a quote:
Ms. Kelly was my favorite teacher. She taught English. Ms. Kelly convinced me to compete in Poetry Out Loud, a national poetry competition. We picked poems by famous poets and got up on stage to recite them.
I picked Stephen Donne’s poem, “Sweetness.” It’s about what it means to be alive — there is sadness, not only sweetness in life.
Click here to read or listen to this inspiring story.