Isaiah Izzo Lizardi reads a poem by Ajibola Tolase, “Commutative Properties of Black Bodies,” on March 30, 2023, as part of an NER Out Loud Event at Middlebury College. “Commutative properties of Black Bodies” was first published in NER 42.4, and you can listen to Tolase read the poem here.

ISAIAH IZZO LIZARDI ’25 is a sophomore from Hartford, Connecticut. He is an international political & economics major with a plan to minor in Spanish. He’s a first-generation college student who participates in three seasons of varsity athletics here at Middlebury. Thus far, Izzo has become a two-year Oratory Now coach to advance “the power of the tongue” in academic and athletic settings. After he gave his commencement speech in 2021, the importance of speaking became clear to him.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

AJIBOLA TOLASE is a Nigerian poet and essayist. He graduated from the MFA Program in Creative Writing at the University of Wisconsin–Madison. His chapbook, Koola Lobitos (Akashic Books), was published in spring 2021 as a part of the New Generation African Poets Series edited by Kwame Dawes and Chris Abani. His work has appeared in American Chordata, Literary Hub, Prairie Schooner, and elsewhere. He is a 2021–2023 Stegner Fellow at Stanford University.