As a freelance writer, I'm drawn to stories about arts & culture, education, language & literature, politics & relationships, spirituality & faith. My work has been published in Psyche (Aeon), Atlas Obscura, NPR/The Salt, Al Jazeera English, Explore Parts Unknown (CNN), The Forward, Alma, Hypertext, The Equity Collective, Mambo, Contrary, Matador, Teaching Artist Journal, Teaching Tolerance, Art in the Public Interest, Addis Rumble, Saudi AramcoWorld, Hemispheres (United Airlines), and Selamata (Ethiopian Airlines),  among many others. I have worked with intensive ethnographic, qualitative methods and always listen for the story. Travel writing focuses on East and Horn of Africa. 

ESSAYS / REPORTED STORIES

PSYCHE
2025 The Psychic Who Healed Me

THE POETRY FOUNDATION
2018 Between Worlds

ATLAS OBSCURA
2018 The Beloved Pie Shop in an Amish and Mennonite Vacation Town

NPR / THE SALT
2018 Skokie, Ill. Has Great Bagels -- And An Even Better Story Behind Them

TASTING TABLE
2018 Saving the Octopus to Eat More Octopus

WORLD NOMADS
2018 A Local's Guide to Zanzibar
2018 Soul-Stirring Food and Festivals in Tanzania

CNN / EXPLORE PARTS UNKNOWN 
​2018 The Perfect Day in Stone Town

ARAMCOWORLD:
2017 Kanga's Woven Voices
2015 A Sea-Change in Bagamoyo 

SELAMTA:
2018 Urojo: Zanzibar's Spicy History in a Bowl
2014 Harar:  A Poet's Dream 

​ALMA:
2017 Without Marriage and Children, How Do Women Known When We're 'All Grown Up' 

THE FORWARD: 
2017 Why Is American Pop Culture So Israel-Obsessed This Year? 
​
MAMBO MAGAZINE (closed)
2010-2013
The Message in the Music 
Love Letters to God: Maulidi in Zanzibar
Possessed by the Spirit of Ngoma: Spirit Possession in Pemba 
An African Star's Homage to Zanzibar, an interview with Samba Mapangala 
Top 10 Most Scandalous Swahili Slip-Ups
Top 5 Most Heart-Breaking Kangas
Secrets of the Kanga Makers​
Mama Jamila's Breakfasts
Tailor-Made For You
Film Review: Hip-Hop in Africa
Film Review: Manenberg
​
MATADOR:
2011 Guide to Swahili Street Slang in Stone Town, Zanzibar
​2011 Five Reasons to Give a Gift -- Zawadi Culture in Zanzibar

JOURNALISM 

THE WORLD, PRX + GBH

2024 Jewish American Delis: A story of culture, community and survival
2023 Tibetan monks on tour in US as China continues to restrict religion in Tibet
2023 World's faith leaders convene to 'fight against authoritarianism'
2023 American WWII doctor in Italy captures scenes of wartime beyond the frontlines
2023 'The Muses are not Silent': Ukraine House offers space for arts, cultural exchange and dialogue
2023 Denmark welcomes Ukrainians under special law — with an expiration date
2023 Danish folk high schools offer lessons in peace in times of war
2018 A Zanzibari 'divorce advocate' says marriage is making women sick

AL-JAZEERA ENGLISH
2018 Meet the Chinese 'tambi' noodle-makers of Zanzibar 
2018 Zanzibar's tiny Syrian refugee community seeks slice of paradise

​PASSBLUE
2018 In East Africa, Threats to LGBTQ Rights Intensify 

GLOBAL VOICES (examples): 
For a full list of articles, click here. 
2018: East African Women in the Music Industry Sing Out Against Male Domination
2017 Zanzibar's Football Heroes Win Hearts Despite Loss to Kenya in CECAFA Cup
2017 A Kenyan Artist Designs Revolutionary 'Kanga' Celebrating Queer Love Around the World 
2016 Tanzanian Musician and Activist Maembe Vitali Arrested and Released

THE CITIZEN:
2014 Can Artists Bring Social Change? 

ADDIS RUMBLES:
2014 Long Live the Girls -- Poetic Empowerment

PLOUGHSHARES:
2011 Literary Boroughs -- Stone Town, Zanzibar & Dar es Salaam, Tanzania

PERSONAL ESSAYS / CREATIVE NONFICTION

DISPATCHES FROM ZANZIBAR 2010-2015
AWAKENINGS: STORIES OF BODIES & CONSCIOUSNESS / ELJ PUBLICATIONS
2023 Holy Hour
​
LILITH:
2018 1992: Jesus for Jews

PROXIMITY:
2018 The Village

HYPERTEXT:
2017 The Snuggle Hustle 
For five years, I wrote regular essays for Contrary Magazine mostly about Zanzibar along with other personal essays related to arts and culture. You can read them here. 
EDUCATION / PEDAGOGY / CURRICULUM 

For a list of essays specifically on teaching and learning, pedagogy, curriculum studies and education policies, please visit Inquiry & Scholarship.