Image via Woodland Pattern Book Center
After facing pressure for the low number of refugees that were to be admitted into the U.S. this year, the Biden administration recently announced plans to increase the number of people who will be allowed to resettle in America. Currently, the world is facing a global refugee crisis as the highest number of people on record are displaced from their homes after being forced to flee from war and violence. The stories of refugees, while rife with struggle and sadness, are also embodied by deep resilience. Capturing these stories is an important part of addressing the current humanitarian refugee crisis, and poetry is a powerful medium to share individual narratives.
As part of their ongoing social justice poetry series, Woodland Pattern Book Center will host a pair of events focused on poetry, resilience and the refugee experience. Award-winning poets Dunya Mikhail and Mai Der Vang will headline an online discussion at 7 p.m., Wednesday, May 19, looking at the ways in which writing can articulate the experiences of diasporic and refugee communities. Part two of the conversation will take place the following evening, May 20, and include live readings by both poets. More information and sign-up details can be found at woodlandpattern.org.
