Communication and Design
Education
- University of Miami, Master of Fine Arts in Poetry, 2023
- Bennington College, Bachelor of Fine Arts, 2018
- Bath Spa University, Study Abroad Semester, 2016
- Williams College, Semester Exchange, 2016
Most Recent Literary Work
Book
Coining A Wishing Tower – Platypus Press, March 2022
- Winner of Broken River Prize
- Commended as Best First Collection by Forward Arts Foundation, 2022
Biography
Ayesha Raees is a published poet, interdisciplinary artist, and educator with a rich background
in creative and research-focused practices. She is the author of Coining A Wishing Tower
(Platypus Press, 2022), founder and Editor-in-Chief of One Minute Press, and poetry editor at the
Whiting Award-winning literary magazine The Margins. With an active studio practice spanning
painting, film, and photography, Ayesha’s creative work integrates transdisciplinary methodologies
and explores themes of identity, post-colonialism, and feminist literature.
Ayesha has extensive teaching experience, designing and leading courses in creative writing,
literature, and visual arts for undergraduates and literary nonprofits in the U.S. and internationally.
Her pedagogy emphasizes collaborative creativity, process over product, and fostering inclusive
classrooms that bridge literature and visual arts.
Her research and artistic work delve into themes of belonging, anti-violence, and decolonial
narratives, aiming to empower marginalized voices. Ayesha brings a unique perspective as a
third-culture artist, centering oral histories and multicultural narratives in her teaching and
creative projects.
Selected Literary Publications
- “Returns” – Colorado Review, 2024
- “A Day Before Another” – Colorado Review, 2024
- “Circus” – Madison Review, 2024
- “Isolation” – Madison Review, 2024
- “Elegy::After” – Madison Review, 2024
- “Spectator at the Musallah” – Denver Quarterly, 2024
- “Recoveries” – Denver Quarterly, 2024
- “Reading Homi Bhabha Cross-legged Underneath an Apple Tree in Vermont” – Worcester Review, 2024
- Excerpt for “Cycle” – De-Canon Anthology, 2024
- “Heartbreak Aubade” – Toyon, 2024
- “Birthday Trip” – Poetry Northwest, 2024
- “Reading Homi Bhabha in a Fetus Position on the Wintering Floor of My Empty Brooklyn Apartment” – Pleiades, 2023
- “This Time, Last Time” – Pleiades, 2023
- “Elegy::Missing the Trigger of Winter Now Triggers You” – Islandia Review, 2023
- “At JFK, This Time, Last Time” – Pleiades, 2023
Recent Fellowships, Residencies, Honors
2023
- Visiting Writer and Resident at the Swiss House, Ljubljana, Slovenia (UNESCO Literary City)
2022
- Winner of Broken River Prize, selected by Kaveh Akbar, Platypus Press, London, UK
- Florida Flora & Fauna Poetry Contest Winner, Saw Palm Literary Journal, University of South Florida, FL, USA
- Commendable Poetry Collection and Poem in Best of Forward 2022 Anthology, Forward Arts Foundation, UK
2021
- Portals Into Language Fellowship Awardee with Ariel Francisco, Cave Canem, New York City
2020
- Poetry Fellow at Kundiman, Mentorship Lab, July, New York City
2019
- Winner of Deanna Tulley Multimedia Contest, Slippery Elm Literary Journal, Findlay, Ohio
- Brooklyn Poets Fellow at Brooklyn Poets, New York City