Host Jo Ann Hardesty speaks with Kathy Jetn̄il-Kijiner,a Marshallese writer and climate justice activist about We Are Not Drowning, We Are Fighting! A Night of Poetry and Conversation, happening Thurs. Sept 29, 7-9pm, at the First Unitarian Church, 1011 SW 12th Ave (Eliot Chapel).
Kathy Jetn̄il-Kijiner's writing highlights the traumas of colonialism, racism, forced migration, the legacy of American nuclear testing, and the impending threats of climate change. Bearing witness at the front lines of various activist movements inspires her work and has propelled her poetry onto international stages. She has performed her poetry in front of audiences ranging from elementary school students to most recently over a hundred world leaders at the United Nations Climate Summit, where she performed a poem to her daughter, "Dear Matafele Peinam". Currently she lives and works in the Marshall Islands, where she teaches Pacific Studies courses at the College of the Marshall Islands. She is also Co-Director of the youth environmentalist non-profit Jo-Jikum, which empowers youth to work towards solutions on environmental issues threatening their home island
- KBOO