Vuma Phiri

Vuma Phiri is a Zambian-born poet writing and performing in Australia and published in various publications. In 2024, Vuma was the winner of the Arts Queensland XYZ Prize for Spoken Word Poetry. Vuma writes to be an echo reverberating the poet’s dreams for liberation, imagining futures where we are free.
Two Poems

Radiance is the light reflected from our words pointing towards what matters most to us. There is a deep vulnerability involved in standing beneath this light or feeling charged with directing it. Every moment of delving into this and choosing to be seen, to be heard, brings us closer to creating a life for ourselves from our words.

February 9, 2026