I am joined by Saraiya Bah, a British poet and cultural producer of Sierra Leonian descent, whose work draws on the West African tradition of storytelling. In our discussion, Saraiya draws connections between Malcom X & Nas, Erykah Badu’s music & teenagers in inner city London, and Saraiya situates Lauryn Hill’s work in Mariama Ba’s iconic nove, So Long a letter. Saraiya Bah is an entire mood! Her honest engagement with literature is inspiring. Listen to her poetry and find out more about her works on saraiyabah.co.uk. An extended playlist of Saraiya Bah’s musical pairings is available on Spotify and YouTube I’m extremely excited to announce that I will be hosting another live episode on the 23rd of May at Foyles bookshop in central London, with Sarah Ladipo Manyika, who will no doubt take us on an insightful and honest discussion about her beautifully written and unforgettable novel, In Dependence. Tickets are available here. I’m so thankful for your positive feedback on last week’s episode with Namwali Serpell. Subscribe to the mailing list at booksandrhymes.com, for a chance to win one of two signed copies of her debut novel, The Old Drift. The winner will be announced in the next episode. Tune into next week’s episode with the Oyinkan Braithwaite, author of My Sister The Serial Killer, a novel that was recently shortlisted for the Women’s Prize for fiction as we discuss her strategies for coping with criticisms, the importance of being grounded in faith, and the eccentricities of being a Nigerian. Subscribe, rate, and review Books & Rhymes on iTunes and your favourite podcast listening platforms. Tweet your thought on this episode using the hashtag #Booksandrhymes, follow @booksandrhymes on twitter and instagram  The song you heard in the intro and outro is titled Dismembered by Meakoom.