Salimah Valiani is a poet, activist, and researcher. Born in Calgary, Alberta, Canada, of a Ugandan mother and Tanzanian father, like her parents, Salimah left home in her late teenage years and began a journey of study and work that included extended stays in Montreal, Quebec; London (UK); New York City and Binghamton (USA); Toronto and Ottawa, Ontario; and Cape Town, South Africa. She has published four collections of poetry: breathing for breadth (2005); LETTER OUT: LETTER IN (Inanna Publications, 2009); LAND OF SKY (Inanna Publications, 2016); Cradles (2017); and 29 LEADS TO LOVE (Inanna Publications, 2021). Her latest publication is the poem-story, "Dear South Africa," one of seven pieces in Praxis Magazine's 2019-2020 Chapbook Series.