Liyou Mesfin Libsekal

Liyou Mesfin Libsekal is an Ethiopian poet living in Addis Ababa. She won the Brunel University African Poetry Prize (now the Brunel International African Poetry Prize) in 2014. Her chapbook, Bearing Heavy Things was part of the 2015 African Poetry Book Fund’s New Generation African Poets series. Her work has appeared in Elsewhere Lit, Expound Magazine, Cordite Poetry Review, and other publications.
Sistine Chapels

“Needless to say, hair is the joy and terror of Ethiopian girlhood. In my grandmother’s time, my great grandfather would mount a horse and take his only daughter out of nine children, miles to the best hair braider in the area.”

September 9, 2020