Dr Victoria I. Ekpo is an educator specialising in English Linguistics and Literature Education, and Philosophy of Education and currently works as a college liaison for Leeds Trinity University in the Academic Partnerships Unit. Her research centres around questions of authenticity – the self and its ontology – and how poetry provides space and opportunities for the critical processes and articulation of the self. Victoria has over 23 years of expertise in teaching, curriculum development and teacher education. She is a co-convenor for the BERA Philosophy of Education special interest group (SIG). Victoria is also a keen hiker and an award-winning writer and poet. Her recent publications include the poetry collection Ask for Wings that Fly by BookLeaf Publishing and ‘A Summer Prematurely Here’, published in the Menopause anthology by Arachne Press. Her paper on poetic inquiry won best paper at BERA 2022, in the Arts-Based Educational Research SIG.