Enjoy this audio recording of “Layl-tul-Qadr (The Night of Power)” by Aisha Sharif from Vol. 27:1 of CALYX Journal! Buy the full issue here.
Aisha is a Cave Canem fellow who resides in Shawnee, Kansas, a suburb that borders Kansas City, Missouri. Her debut poetry collection, To Keep From Undressing, is available here. As an African American Muslim woman, her work explores how racial, gender, and religious identities align, separate, and blend. Her poem, “Why I Can Dance Down a Soul Train Line…” was nominated for a Pushcart Prize in 2015. Aisha’s poetry has also appeared in journals like Rattle, Callaloo, and Crab Orchard Review. Aisha teaches English at Metropolitan Community College in Kansas City, Missouri. She is married to David Muhammad and is the mother of two wonderful daughters.