Dara Kalima

Dara Kalima, the loud and proud Bronxite who once hated writing, fell in love with poetry at nine years old. By sixteen, she began honoring her artistic instincts, becoming a founding member of the Creative Arts Team Youth Theatre while writing poetry every month. She earned her BA in Literature with a concentration in Drama Studies from SUNY Purchase and later completed her MA in Educational Theatre at NYU.

Her theatrical career spans acting, stage management, and directing across community theaters in the Northeast, including the HADLEY Players, Teatro LATEA, and Aaron Davis Hall. As a poet, Dara has performed widely across New York City—at Bowery Poetry Club, the Nuyorican Poets Café—and was featured on WBAI’s Perspectives, hosted by the late Louis Reyes Rivera. Her work has also reached major stages beyond the city: she has performed poetry Off‑Broadway and internationally, including appearances in Scotland and Dubai.

Although the idea for "Black Man, Black Woman, Black Child" first came to her in 1999, and she had amassed more than 800 poems, Dara didn’t release her debut book until 2014. She followed it with "Casualty of Love", her #MeToo narrative, and "Two X Chromosomes with an Extra Shot of Melanin", an exploration of intersectional feminism. She has since published her memoir "Still Laughin’" and two additional poetry collections: "It Is Abnormal To Ban Poetry" and "It Is Abnormal To Live This Way".

As an artist, Dara is committed to confronting difficult and taboo subjects to spark dialogue, promote healing, and encourage critical thought within her community and across cultures. She’s always ready for a meaningful conversation—just know you might inspire her next poem.