Nadalyn Gwendolyn Ismatu Bangura

Nadalyn Gwendolyn Ismatu Bangura does indeed realize she has a very long name. They’re certain you can sound it out. Ismatu is a Sierra Leonean writer, ethnographer, and social worker based in Chicago, IL. She has an embarrassing number of houseplants and is unreasonably obsessed with Toni Cade Bambara, the conditions of human connection, and loose leaf pistachio tea. Ismatu was raised in Colorado and misses the mountains of the Southwest every day. She considers poetry to be the thesis of her life. At any given time, you can find them with their hand in many pots: writing and rewriting poetry and prose, storytelling over tea on TikTok, or creating long-form video essays.