Bassey Ikpi

thumb|Bassey Ikpi in 2016 Bassey Ikpi is a Nigerian-born American spoken-word artist, writer, and mental health advocate. She has appeared on HBO's Russell Simmons Presents Def Poetry five times and her poetry has opened shows for Grammy Award-winning artists. She is also the New York Times bestselling author of I'm Telling The Truth But I'm Lying. Quotes ....The talent is here. The opportunities aren't. And it is the opportunities that foster growth. Description of spoken word scene in Nigeria Poetry has been an instrument of change and revolution since it existed. It is protest and defiance and celebration and a love anthem. It is how we communicate so of course it is also how we enact change. #Dothewritething for the missing school girls in Nigeria It is the poets who tell the stories in a rhythm that forces the masses and the aristocracy to listen. During her interview Poetry, and art in general, allows us to take what is around us and set it on fire. It is the tool we use to enact and document change. Poetry as a form of advocacy for the rescue of the girls I don’t profess to be any one religion, I think all religions are flawed because people are flawed. But we have the potential and capacity to be bigger than our flaws. Her reply when asked if religion or spirituality play any part in her compositions or performances (10 September 2015) External links Category:Poets from the United States Category:Memoirists from the United States Category:Women authors from Nigeria Category:Women activists from Nigeria Category:Mental health activists Category:Women activists from the United States Category:Women authors from the United States Category:21st-century African-American women Category:Living people