Elias Udo-Ochi
Elias Udo-Ochi (He/Them) is a queer Nigerian poet and literary critic of Igbo descent. They have poems published in Heroin Chic Mag, African Writers, Poetry Column-NND, Mojave Heart Review, Salmon Creek Journal, Feral Poetry, Olùmo Review, Woodward Review and another forthcoming from Black Warrior Review. A 2018 Wawa Book Review Young Literary Critic Fellow, their manuscript FLOWER BOYS was a finalist for the Kissing Dynamite 2021 Micro chapbook contest. Their poem was recently longlisted for the 2022 Black Warrior Review Poetry Contest judged by Diane Seuss. In November 2022, they hosted a virtual conversation with Romeo Oriogun and Eghosa Imasuen for the Benin Arts and Book Festival (BAABFEST). Most of their writing intersects where the body is sacred, individual and accompanied by a trauma of place. They are a member of The Deadliners, a collective of badass Nigerian creatives. Elias tweets @Eliasandrevn.