Erika-Janea
Erika-Janea is a senior at the Chicago Academy for the Arts, concentrating in Media Arts. Her thoughtful work flows easily between poetry, fiction, and screenwriting, sincerity and the spirit of (wo)man. At seventeen, she has already been featured/published numerous times, in such anthologies and reading series as Speaking Me, Blacklight 2008, and Chicago6coners. Erika has also served as a poetry instructor for elementary schools and community centers in Chicago, and served as Mayor Dailey's 2008 poet for the Women's History Month Celebration at the Cultural Center. A third year member of Y.C.A., her work is heavily influenced by her friends, mentors, and esteemed artists, Avery R. Young, Toni Asante Lightfoot, and Kristiana Colón, to name a few. Erika also has a love for singing, drawing inspiration from Nina Simone, Erykah Badu, Lauryn Hill, and Floetry. She is one-half of Selah, a duo conceived during the course of GirlSpeak, with co-editor, Kiara Lanier. Erika-Janea anticipates painting new intellect with each branch of her artistry. Her new aphorism: Everything is urgent.