Atlanta spoken word artist Ashlee Haze creates an Afrofuturist world through poetry that doesn't exist...yet

Atlanta-based poet Ashlee Haze at Individual World Poetry Slam Finals in Flagstaff. (Courtesy of Adam Rubinstein)

On the “City Lights” series “Speaking of Poetry,” Atlanta’s most prolific wordsmiths discuss the art of evoking emotions with words.

This edition of “Speaking of Poetry” features Spoken word artist Ashlee Haze. “I would describe my poetry as a mix of documentary with afro-futurism,” Haze says.

“Part of my poetry is writing a world that I don’t live in yet, that doesn’t really exist. A world where people who look like me, people who come from where I come from, are honored and revered and experience abundance in their lives.”



Haze started writing poetry at about ten years old when her church asked if she and her mom could write something together for an upcoming banquet.

They landed on a poem. Ever since that moment, Haze decided she wanted to use poetry as her primary outlet, using poetry as a tool to get thoughts out of her body as well as a tool for justice. 

In this segment, Ashlee Haze shared a poem called “Haiku Number 6.”

Forgive yourself for

Not being who or what you 

Thought you’d be by now

You can find out more about Spoken Word artist Ashlee Haze on Instagram here.