Rashidah Ismaili is an essayist, poet, and playwright originally from West Africa. Her nonfiction, art critiques, and academic papers have been presented nationally and internationally at conferences in the Caribbean, South America, Africa, and Europe. She is widely anthologized, and her works have been translated into 10 languages. She lives in Harlem, where she has hosted Salon d’Afrique, bringing together artists from Africa and the African diaspora with residents of Harlem and beyond, for nearly three decades.