Itoro Bassey on Growing Up Rural, Being Nigerian-American, and How We Relate to One Another

The Periphery from the Pulaski Institution

Itoro Bassey is a first-generation Nigerian-American who grew up in Southbridge, Massachusetts. She is a journalist, playwright, cultural worker, educator, and novelist. Her debut novel, Faith, was published by Malarkey Books in 2022. Itoro has previously worked as a correspondent for Arise News and is now a segment producer for the BBC, based in Washington, D.C.
We talk about her experiences growing up in rural New England, her time living in Nigeria, and how identity and ruralness play out in our everyday lives.