Lisette Ma Neza is a poet, elocutionist and musician. In her writing, music and film, she focuses on undertold stories: the stories that are difficult to tell and overtold stories: the stories that become larger than life and serve as allegories for life experiences. “Lisette represents the tremendous resilience of a generation that has weathered storms close to home, but also made itself heard with dignity. That hopeful engagement is is an essential foundation of her literature. Social commitment is woven into the DNA of her poems. There is an intense bond between writer and listener.” In 2017 she became the first Dutch-speaking, the first woman and the first poet of colour to win the Belgian Championship of Slam Poetry. Her performance balances between painfully direct and amorous naivete and therefore she always grabs the audience by the throat.
Lisette’s participation forms part of Hear My Voice’s international poetry residency taking place from the 30th August – 11th September 2023 made possible through the support of the delegation of Flanders: Embassy of Belgium