Over the course of its history, Dickinson College has hosted its fair share of influential artists, speakers and authors as part of the Poitras Gleim endowed speaker event, gifted by Ted and Kay Gleim Poitras ’53. On November 7, the institution made a remarkable addition to that list, with author Tomi Adeyemi.
The Poitras Gleim event was held in the Anita Tuvin Schlechter Auditorium (ATS), in the form of a moderated Q&A with Professor of English Chelsea Skalak. Kina Jefferson ’26 and multiple members of the Student Senate also assisted with the presentation and mechanics behind the talk.
Tomi Adeyemi not only brought her expertise as an author to the talk, but she also brought a lighthearted tone, full of hope and understanding to the room.
Adeyemi is a first-generation Nigerian-American author of the New York Times Best Selling, “Children of Blood and Bone” trilogy, winner of numerous awards for literature, and she appeared on the Forbes 30 under 30 list in 2020.
Not only is Adeyemi an accomplished author, but she also is making a name for herself in the movie industry. An adaptation of “Children of Blood and Bone” will be released in 2027, and Adeyemi is heavily involved in screenwriting and is serving as an executive producer for the film.
Adeyemi’s journey to becoming the author, producer and overall sensation did not happen overnight, but instead was the result of years of strenuous work and self-discovery.
In an interview with The Dickinsonian, Adeyemi detailed the many influences that shaped the “Children of Blood and Bone” trilogy. One of the most influential moments for Adeyemi took place in a gift shop in Brazil. There, Adeyemi came across ceramic plates with figures that she interpreted, at the time, as African gods and goddesses. Adeyemi describes this moment as “the big bang” or creation of the universe of her tribology, and the moment when “the Orisha revealed themselves to me,” the Orisha being the mystical figures she originally interpreted as African deities.
Though the Orisha are pivotal figures in Nigerian culture, they were not talked about in her Nigerian-American home, due to her parent’s Christian faith. For Adeyemi discovering the Orisha and their history was a powerful spiritual experience.
However, the Orisha were not the only inspiration for Adeyemi’s writing. In the same interview, Adeyemi expressed how both W.E.B. De Bois’s “The Souls of Black Folk” and the murder of Trayvon Martin in 2012 were influential for her writing. Adeyemi detailed how prior to the killing of Martin, she felt that many of the points DeBois covered in his writing were in the past. However, after Martin’s tragic death,Adeyemi stated that De Bois’s work took on a new meaning for her, “Souls of Black Folk once again felt very relevant” and “200 years ago felt like today,” she said.
In a facilitated Poitras Gleim Q&A session, Adeyemi went on to emphasize that as new tragedies take place across the country, people will often ask if her writing directly correlates to them. She responds that “While I did not have any specific event in mind when writing the trilogy, the content can still be applied to current situations.”
Not only is Adeyemi’s position unique as an author, with such success at an early age, but she provides a rare perspective for college age writers when it comes to balancing work and selfcare.
Both in her interview with the Dickinsonian and the Q&A, Adeyemi emphasized how she had to “learn the hard way” that selfcare and sustainable writing practices are essential not only to success, but to long-term health. She encouraged writers to implement methods like writing timers and writing sprints over writing sessions that stretch over hours with no breaks.
One moment in the Q&A that drove this point home for the audience was when Adeyemi shared that when she received a copy of one of her latest books, she looked at awards listed and did not recognize them. She stated, “I had become so caught up in my sprint to success that I never stopped to appreciate what I had already done.”
One theme that resonated not only throughout her interview, but also in the Q&A was Adeyemi’s adamant support for young people, especially young women, and her wish for them to feel legitimate in their pursuit of their dreams. Adeyemi stated, “If you can create anything you want, create a place of freedom… All I want is for women to be powerful and free, for they are everything.”
