Lyric (I.): Live Music by Elora and Readings by Sabrina Bustamante, Vasvi Kejriwal, Migwi Mwangi, and Maslen Bode Ward

​Lyric is our interdisciplinary literary series, where we invite musicians and writers to come together for an evening of live music and readings. For our first lyrical number, we are featuring Sabrina Bustamante, Elora, Vasvi Kejriwal, Migwi Mwangi, and Maslen Bode Ward.

​Sabrina Bustamante is a writer based out of Iowa City. She has work in Michigan Quarterly Review, Latina Magazine, Split Lip Magazine, and Bending Genres.

​Elora has been performing her original music in the NYC music scene since 2021. Since then, her songwriting has attracted attention from NPR and Sofar Sounds with performances at staple NY venues such as Union Pool, The Sultan Room, and Mercury Lounge. She released her first singles with Paper Moon Records in 2023 and is releasing her debut EP, ‘Command Her,' a collection of songs written from her perspective upon moving back to her hometown as a young adult in a post-pandemic world. Her knack for world-building lyricism and dreamy production is complimented by grounded live-band performances, making the songs as gripping as they are ethereal.

​Vasvi Kejriwal is a writer and former lawyer from India. She's a MFA candidate at NYU, and leads Fresh Mint, a project that serves to share and highlight literary works from underrepresented communities. She is a Pushcart Prize nominee and also the recipient of the Al Young Memorial scholarship from the Community of Writers Conference. Her poems have appeared / are forthcoming in Rattle, Nimrod, Shō Poetry Journal, and elsewhere.

​Migwi Mwangi is a storyteller from Nairobi.

​Maslen Bode Ward is a writer from Boston. Her poetry and essays appear in The Iowa Review, Interim, Gulf Stream Magazine, Fine Print Press, and elsewhere.