Essmaa Litim is a dynamic storyteller, community builder, and cultural curator whose work lives at the intersection of art and activism. She uses the power of her spoken word poetry to ignite conversations around justice, equity, and healing. She has performed in spaces like SOB’s in NYC, WGBH, Puma, Sofar Sounds, and Voices in Power at City Winery. Her latest piece, “The Laundromat”, which highlights gentrification in her neighborhood of East Boston, was published in the anthology How We Take Up Space by Nakia Hill in 2024. Essmaa has taken her love of writing to community and educational spaces where she’s hosted writing workshops at Tufts University, Bentley University, and with Boston-based community organizations. These spaces are more than a creative outlet—they are sanctuaries for truth-telling, resistance, and collective growth. With a fierce commitment to liberation through language, she nurtures new generations of storytellers, equipping them with the tools to speak boldly and unapologetically.

Essmaa released her first memoir, Speechless, in 2021, which serves as an intimate account of her family’s immigration to the United States and shares the cultural adversity they faced in raising five children in a new world. She highlights her mother’s journey raising her youngest son, who is Autistic and nonspeaking. She honors the sacrifices, complexities, and strength of her lineage while illuminating the nuanced realities of migration, identity, and belonging. Essmaa’s closeness to her brother inspired her to launch a community event, Art In Autism, with organizations AANE, Ivy Street School, Gateway Arts, and Tasium to raise awareness on the neurodivergent community.

Essmaa is the founder of Femme Flo, a poetic collective curated to cultivate a community of femme poets in celebration of legacy—past, present, and future. She has organized two sold-out Femme Flo events in the past two years and is launching the third this Spring. Femme Flo is a space where femme poets are highlighted through panels, discussions, open mics, and overall joy. 

In March 2023, Essmaa was awarded the EXTRAordinary Woman award by the Mayor's Office of Women's Advancement for her commitment and dedication to her community, neighborhood, and workplace. As a first-generation American, Essmaa continues to work hard to help build the community that helped build her through believing it, speaking it, and being it. She is not simply just a voice in the movement—she is a catalyst. Through every poem, every story, and every event, she invites her community not only to dream of a better world, but to build it, together.