376) Craig Santos Perez: Poetry as therapy and political speech

"Poetry has always been a powerful space for healing, dealing with trauma, cultivating resilience in times of crisis or even depression..."

In this episode, we welcome Dr. Craig Santos Perez, an indigenous CHamoru from the Pacific Island of Guam. He is the co-editor of six anthologies and the author of five books of poetry and the monograph Navigating CHamoru Poetry: Indigeneity, Aesthetics, and Decolonization. He is a professor in the English department at the University of Hawaii at Manoa.

Some topics we explore in this conversation include a glimpse into the recent history of Guam and its Pacific Islander communities, the challenges of demilitarization and de-nuclearization amidst the global empires’ endless pursuit of domination, using poetry as political speech and literary therapy, and more.

(The musical offering featured in this episode Eye of the storm by Ali Dineen. The episode-inspired artwork is by Sneha.)

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