Poets Cherene Sherrard and Heather Swan discuss poetry of witness and newly inhabited histories from their new books. Before the event begins, you will see a countdown and the event image.

How does poetry allow us to write into and heal from living in spaces that do not offer nourishment and sustenance, but rather toxicities, physical and psychological? What does it take to make yourself heard in a hostile environment? How do you soften hearts while protecting your own well-being? We will read and talk about how poetry can replenish and open opportunities for creating uncommon kinships. Harlem Renaissance writer Zora Neale Hurston once said: “All my skinfolk ain’t my kinfolk.” Contrary-wise, is it possible to make someone on the opposite side of the political, social, or cultural aisle kin?  The audience will have a chance to participate in the conversation that will examine inhospitable aspects of our current moment including institutional racism, environmental violence and their overlap, and also consider spells and recipes for making a better world.

Writing into Inhospitable Space