Alysia Harris is a heliotrope. She follows the Son. Currently a graduate student at Yale University pursuing a PhD in linguistics , she studies semantic change and aspectual shift in African American English and the genetic relationships between Semitic language. Though intrigued by the scientific study of language as a linguist, as a poet she uses it as a creative probe to explore the emotional, spiritual, and relational realms of the human experience. Alysia is a two-time national spoken word champion, being a member of the winning BNV 2007 and CUPSI 2007 teams. She also appeared on the HBO Documentary Russell Simmons Presents: Brave New Voices in 2009. She has performed with the likes of Saul Williams, Buddy Wakefield, Carlos Andres Gomez, Anis Mojgani, Rita Dove, and Elizabeth Alexander. Her poems have garnished well over 2 million views on YouTube and Alysia is currently curating a blog entitled Not Dalton's Kids, which encourages and compiles creative submissions (poems, sculptures, paintings, drawings, photographs, songs, short stories, criticism) on the topic of racism and racial identity. Alysia is most passionate about God, love, and poetry. Her biggest loves in life are spontaneous group dance sessions, Hemingway, and clean endings. When not studying or writing, Alysia can be found dancing, Facebook stalking, crying over heartbreak, talking about theology, eating CLIF bars and hanging out in the deserts of the Middle East. She hopes in the future, after obtaining her PhD in linguistics, to get an MFA in creative writing and move to the North Africa to start a number creative writing programs in the region. Read more on Last.fm. User-contributed text is available under the Creative Commons By-SA License; additional terms may apply.