Kimiko Hahn is the award-winning author of ten collections of poetry, including The Ghost Forest: New & Selected Poems out now from W.W. Norton. She was the keynote speaker at the Lit NYS convening held in the Girls Write Now offices in September 2024. In her speech, Hahn talked about the power of writers to create change where they are. She shared a parable that she learned from a political mentor about a shipwrecked crew off the coast of South America.
The captain signaled to shore, “We need fresh water” and the shore signaled back, “Lower your buckets where you are.” After continuing to ask for water and getting the same reply, the sailors lowered their buckets. It was fresh water (thanks to the Amazon River flowing into the sea).
“Wherever you are, you can find a place to talk and more important, a place to listen to people and become involved. And that goes for where people bring their poetry, for example,” Hahn said.
In this inspiring conversation, hosted by Girls Write Now mentees Madeline Berberian Hutchinson and Christiane Calixte, Hahn gives advice to a new generation of poets and inspires us all to lower our buckets where we are.
You can find more of Hahn’s work at kimikohahn.com.
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