Shailja, pronounced Shell-jah, Patel is an Asian African poet and spoken-word theatre artist. She is currently performing a one-woman show, Migritude, which has received a Creation Fund Award from the National Performance Network. Excerpts from Migritude have aired on National Public Radio in the US, and the BBC in the UK and Africa. Work-in-progress performances of Migritude created a media furore in Nairobi, and played to packed houses and multiple curtain calls at the International Women Art Festival in Vienna. Shailja has featured at New York's Lincoln Center, and festivals and venues across North America, Europe, and East Africa.