'Am I not an immigrant?' Echoes of Sojourner Truth in this Seattleite's poem
Bill Radke and Elizabeth Austen mark International Women's Day with a conversation about a poem that echoes across 150 years of activism.
Seattle civic poet Claudia Castro Luna performs Sojourner Truth's "Ain't I A Woman?" It's based on a speech Truth gave at a women's rights convention in 1851. Castro Luna responds with a poem of her own reflecting her perspective as an immigrant from El Salvador in "Am I Not An Immigrant?"
Bonus: Read an essay by Castro Luna about her experience as an immigrant to the United States.
Castro Luna was one of more than a dozen authors raising their voices at "Writers Resist: A Celebration of Free Speech" at Seattle's Town Hall in January.
Castro Luna is nearing the end of a two-year term as Seattle's first civic poet. The City of Seattle is seeking the next Civic Poet.
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Elizabeth Austen
Producer
Former Washington State Poet Laureate Elizabeth Austen has been interviewing poets and producing poetry segments for KUOW since 2001. She began as an intern while in graduate school for an MFA in creative writing (poetry) at Antioch University, Los Angeles. Once she discovered the joy of blending her early background as an actor and director (Book–It Repertory Theatre, Seattle Shakespeare Festival) with her passion for poetry as a spoken art form, she was hooked. She's been producing poetry for radio audiences ever since. Her collection, "Every Dress a Decision" (Blue Begonia Press, 2011), was a finalist for the 2012 Washington State Book Award in poetry. She is also the author of two poetry chapbooks, "The Girl Who Goes Alone" (Floating Bridge Press, 2010) and "Where Currents Meet," winner of the Toadlily Press Chapbook Award and part of the quartet "Sightline," published in 2010. Elizabeth's poems have been featured on Garrison Keillor's Writer's Almanac and online at Verse Daily, the Bellingham Review and DMQ Review. You'll find Elizabeth's poems in anthologies including "What to Read in the Rain" and "Poets Against the War" and in literary journals. She's performed at venues including Poets House in New York City, The Loft in Minneapolis, the Austin ArtSpark Festival, and locally at the Richard Hugo House Literary Series, Bumbershoot, and the Seattle and Skagit River Poetry Festivals. An audio CD, "skin prayers," featuring 26 original poems recorded with a live audience in the KUOW studios, is available on her website, www.elizabethausten.org. Elizabeth was the 2007 Roadshow poet, bringing poetry to underserved rural communities in Washington state under the auspices of the Washington State Arts Commission, Humanities Washington, and the Washington Poets Association. She is committed to fostering a broader understanding and appreciation of the literary arts in general and poetry in particular. She teaches frequently at Richard Hugo House, a literary arts center in Seattle, and she has been a visiting artist for western Washington school districts and colleges.
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