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Usman Hameedi's debut collection, Staying Right Here, is a journey in finding home. Hameedi invites readers to bear witness to vignettes of joy and hardship as he navigates finding his place in America.From an ode to Bodegas, an autobiography of his eyebrows, and elegies for lost friends, Hameedi's thematic metaphors for family, wellness, and American biases weave a literary tapestry.
Reading Usman's work is like drinking a warm chai while watching the sunset in Brooklyn, or coming home to an aromatic Biryani. In his first poetry collection, Hameedi writes with an unmistakably unique voice that is not afraid of who he is.
Staying Right Here is for those who have looked for themselves in the media and only seen a one-dimensional character staring back at them.
About the author
Usman Hameedi is a Pakistani-American scientist, poet, educator, and author of
Staying Right Here (Button Poetry). He also serves on Mass Poetry's Board of Directors. Since 2008, he has competed in and coached for collegiate, national, and international level poetry slams. He was a Mass Poetry Artist-in-Residence and worked with students in Hyde Park and Salem. Usman's work has been featured on
The Huffington Post, Intima: A Journal of Narrative Medicine, and The Story Collider: Storytelling for Scientists podcast and more.
