Azmera, aka, The Poetic Theorist, is a mirror holder and energy molder dancing and rhyming, laughing and crying her way through life’s ebbs and flows to inspire radical joy and empathy.

This translates into her work as a respected performer, educator & MC.

As featured in

Azmera identifies as a harvester of hope and believer in dreams. She believes that the dreams placed on every single human being's heart is worthy of coming to fruition, and that in fact our purpose on this planet is tied to making sure those dreams can come to life -- for everyone. She works for racial justice and equity through the arts, education and entertainment and she see's art and culture, rooted in a deep faith and spiritual resolve, as the soil that can breed fruitful seeds of change in policy and practice. When she's not collaborating with people passionate about social justice, youth advocacy, and transformative learning she is writing to invoke and illuminate how art reflects life.

Who is

Azmera?

Azmera Hammouri-Davis is a womanist poet, spiritual practitioner, artist-educator and producer from Keaau, HI. A graduate of Harvard Divinity School and the University of Southern California, Azmera is passionate about deepening religious literacy, educational equity and transformative justice through storytelling, music production and performance, and community engagement.
Azmera is a current teaching fellow for the Harvard Graduate School of Education course *Can't Stop Hip Hop: Understanding and Embracing Hip Hop Pedagogy*. She is also the Community Partnership Lead at Harvard Radcliffe Center for Advanced study. Last year, Azmera built the first Africana Spirituality Chaplaincy at Tufts University. Prior to her time at Harvard, Azmera studied the origins of the Afro-Brazilian martial art Capoeira in Salvador Bahia, Brazil as a Fulbright Creative and Performing Arts Researcher.
Azmera is a founding member of the global hip-hop collective Follow the KEEPERS and she hosts the Break the Boxes Stories Podcast, which explores how the creative process enhances spiritual and mental well-being. Whether in a studio, on stage, in a board room or classroom, Azmera is on the move to show what it means to Break The Boxes of stereotypes and limited thinking to live life abundantly.❤️💛💚

Artists’ Statement.

I'm deeply fascinated by the way people shape, express and navigate their worlds. We are all so imperfect, yet so beautiful in our own unique flaws. Those imperfections are what I'm after. My artistic and spiritual practice interweave stories that center reflection and prioritize inner well-being. As a performer-producer and visual artist I engage close textual analysis, exploring the symbols, sounds, textures, rhythms, and spaces between the material and immaterial world. Whether through visual, lyrical or physical composition, I study these dimensions to comment on what it means to be human. I am guided by the still quiet voice inside that emerges in the most subtle silent moments. In a world where there are a variety of voices competing for our attention, my work attempts to center the soft and unspoken, hinting at the interconnectedness that makes being human, as a human being, feel more meaningful, alive, whole.

We are all in constant iteration. Doing our best to navigate the complexities of life, tryna figure this thing out, tryna organize the marbles we’ve been given. Everyday. There’s no telling how much closer we get, what “progress” truly is, but day by day, putting one foot in front of the other, life begins to seem a little more bearable. breath comes back to me with a little more ease, and I’m reminded of how important it is to allow self to grieve. 🌻 #release

The silent and sacred are components of my work that are informed by sounds of the Divine. The I within the I. Adonai, I am that I am. My middle name is Adonai. My first name is Azmera, an Amharic term for Harvest. And my last name is hyphenated -- Hammouri, after my Palestinian grandfather, and Davis, after my African American grandfather. These legacies and genealogies inform my understanding of self, and as I grow, shape, develop into all that I am to become, I (re)member that I am intimately connected to the collective pursuit of liberation. As such, a signature theme in my work is memory, as I (re)member the parts of a past, to better understand my present state of being, and more intentionally inform my future. My poems, stories, songs, plays, all relate back to childhood, rooted in brokenness in pursuit of healing to become whole.

What People Are Saying About Azmera…

“Azmera's poetry performance is conveyed to the audience in a very genuine, natural, not memorized way that feels like she is speaking from the heart. Her rhythm and quick then slow tempos add drama and emotion as well in a way that holds my attention.”

— Sarah Sturn
Harvard Religious Literacy Project

“Azmera’s dedication to social justice, communal healing, and the performance arts is contagious; as someone who generally shies away from creativity myself, Azmera has pulled me out of that discomfort countless times as a friend, artist, and scholar. I can only hope that everyone has at least one opportunity in their lives to come into contact with Azmera and her work.”

— Joshua Reason
Africana Studies Ph.D Candidate, UPenn

“SOOOOOOO PROUD OF YOU!!! YES YES YES!!! I'm here for ALL of this. Shine bright, Azmera Davis. That's what you were destined to do!”

— Mandelah SH
Founder + CEO, FounderGym

“Several years ago, I saw Azmera Davis recite a poem at a fundraiser for the International Society of Black Latinos. After the program ended, I made my way to the stage to personally meet her. Azmera had the soul of a poet and the intellect of a scholar. I knew that I was looking at greatness and a future voice of the Millennial generation. Her poetry reflects light in the face of a shadowy world. In the midst of pain – she sees the positive nature of humanity. Her poem, The Future, lovingly challenges college students to find their rightful place in this world and own their destiny.

Azmera has an infectious laugh and a spirit that radiates positive vibrations. She walks in the spirit of freedom. I can’t wait to see the road of life that awaits her – for many will choose to follow in her footsteps. Azmera will undoubtedly collaborate with many people and produce brilliant results. The world no longer has to wait for the next great poet to emerge – she’s already here. Maya Angelou would be so proud!”

— Debra Peterson,
Long Beach City College & Career Counselor;
Founder, College Outloud.

"Your poem on the ancestors and your delivery of it -- a poetic chant and a call to action - was so powerful!!! Thank you for sharing your gifts with us. I am reminded when I hear you speak, how precious each of us are and how God has gifted us each with unique talents and such is the case with your ways of ministry and your knowledge of the arts and culture. You are a gifted artist. Thanks, again!"