Vai Shakoor

Vai Shakoor has never believed poetry was meant to simply sit on a page.

She writes to make the things we swallow speak.

An award-winning spoken word artist, storyteller, educator, and creative curator, Vai has built her artistry from testimony—turning grief, survival, love, womanhood, healing, and everything we are taught to keep quiet into something that demands to be heard.

Her project, Confessions of a Siren Poet: The Wata Saga, turned those confessions into a nationally recognized body of work. The project earned recognition from the National Spoken Word Awards, with Vai receiving a nomination for Best Female Spoken Word Artist and The Wata Saga ultimately winning Best Spoken Word Album of the Year.

Through Siren Tales Productions, Vai carries that work beyond the microphone, creating experiences where art becomes action. As curator of The Confessional Slam, she has built a space rooted in vulnerability, competition, community, and giving back—continuing her belief that poetry can entertain a room while still changing one.

Her advocacy extends beyond the stage through her apparel and creative work, intentionally amplifying conversations surrounding mental health, sexual assault awareness, and the advancement of Black and Brown communities.

For Vai, art has never been about simply being heard. It is about leaving something behind—something that heals, confronts, connects, and changes.

She doesn’t just write about surviving the water.

She writes about what we become when we finally learn how to breathe in it.