Monk Eats an Afro

Yolanda Wisher is a Philadelphia-based poet, singer, musician, and educator. Wisher was born in the historic Germantown section of Philadelphia and raised in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, where she was named the county’s first poet laureate at the age of 23. She is a Cave Canem graduate and received an M.A. in Creative Writing/English from Temple University and a B.A. in English and Black Studies from Lafayette College. Her writing has appeared in Meridian, The Philadelphia Inquirer and the Cave Canem Anthologies, among other places and she regularly performs her poetry in collaboration with musicians. In 2013, she co-edited the international anthology Peace is a Haiku Song with Sonia Sanchez. As a teacher, radio host, and founder/director of the Germantown Poetry Festival, Wisher has utilized poetry as a conduit for community-building and youth empowerment for over fifteen years. She lives in Germantown with her husband Mark Palacio, a double bassist, and their son, Thelonious.