About me
Richard Kwesi Afriyie, a poet from Ghana, West Africa. An MFA student in Creative Writing and a Graduate Teaching Assistant in the English Department of Portland State University, Oregon. I consider myself a witness poet. I historicize contemporary African socio-political events, document, and inform through my poetry writing. Hence, my portfolio of creative and personal writing is rooted in multiple subjects but responds predominantly to current events on the African continent which center around themes of struggle, violence, human rights abuse, political conflict, and the daily richness of the continent’s landscapes and people, among other social issues. I hold a bachelor’s degree in Sociology from Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, and my poetry has appeared in Pathos Literary Magazine, including the works FIHANKRA and M’ATE M’ASIE. I am also a recipient of the Doris Braley Poetry Award (2025) from PSU’s MFA Creative Writing Department with the poems: AYA, North East FAILING, OUTCAST, THE AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF A POEM&POET, & A SONG OF WINTER.
Why i write poetry
I don’t write because I have something to say; I write because something must be said. Something must be said about the world, about Africa, her history, her injustice, her beauty, her survival, her story, and her culture. For years, I always believed my poems belonged to me, so I always guarded them, afraid to share. But, I have come to understand that poets are not owners of their works; we are merely vessels. The word moves through us. I want nothing more than to be used by the art, to serve its purpose and to make a difference. As a child, I didn’t dream of the pen. I dreamt of the peruke, of standing in the courts of law fighting for justice. I wanted to make a difference, to help people, but dreams get rationed when you’re born into poverty, when you’re one of seven children raised in a home fractured by hardship and single parenthood. I knew very early on that my path to success would be through education, so I worked odd jobs to pay for high school and college with the help of my father. I am a first-generation graduate. My education was not handed to me; it was carved out through persistence and hard work. Persistence is my father’s favorite word, and even as I write, I can still hear his voice in my head. My writing comes from that same place of survival and tenacity. It is shaped by the hunger to tell, make a difference, and leave a legacy
