Poet and International Speaker

Africa World Press has published Like Water Running Off My Back, a collection of poems by Molefi Asante Jr. '04 (left), who gave a dozen readings this summer in England, Jamaica, Philadelphia, and Chester, Pa. Pulitzer Prize winner Charles Fuller praised the poetry as "remarkable," saying "Asante Jr. is a writer to watch."

A Jean Corrie Poetry Prize winner, Asante is majoring in both English and Africana Studies. "Some of the ideas discussed in Africana Studies classes not only have inspired me to dig deeper into those issues myself, but also have inspired some of my poetry," he says.

Last spring, Asante conducted an independent study with Kofi Opoku (right), professor of religion, on the African origins of hip-hop music in America. Asante is writing a book about the relationship between the hip-hop MC and the West African griot.

Asante, who has been published in the poetry anthology Letters from the Soul, has been a featured poet and speaker at the ANKH conference in Aswan, Egypt. In October, he was guest poet at the Cheikh Anta Diop Conference in Philadelphia. He also has written a screenplay titled Extreme Pressure, a fantasy/adventure feature-length film that he is trying to sell.

Next spring, Asante will study at University of London School of Oriental and African Studies. He will lead college students on a summer trip to Egypt, where he has studied ancient civilization and deciphered hieroglyphics for the past six years. Coeditor of Aya literary magazine, he is a member of Students for Social Justice, Association of Black Collegians, and Brothers of Lafayette, and enjoys intramural basketball.