Kindra McDonald, Luisa A. Igloria, and Mariam Ahmed

Kindra McDonald joins the program to discuss THE NATURE OF OUR TIMES: POEMS, an anthology at the intersection of poetry and climate change. McDonald states that the anthology serves as an outlet for poets to talk about their regions. She reads a poem “Lost and Found Fairtail,” before the next guest Luisa A, Igloria joins the program. Igloria outlines how central climate, and climate politics are to her poetics, and outlines the importance and inspirations behind theTHE NATURE OF OUR TIMES: POEMS anthology. The anthology has 210 contributors from researchers, poets, and conventional artists. She then reads two poems, one from Camille T. Dungy “Nematode”, and her own “Bats French Kiss With Mouthfuls of Blood.” The last guest of the hour is Mariam Ahmed, who speaks on the release of her first full-length collection, Hidden Parts. She discusses how University poetics and those communities are very special to her, and shares a poem titled “Laughter,” and an ode “Sleep/Keep.”

Kindra McDonald is the author of the books Teaching a Wild Thing, In the Meat years, and Fossils. She received her MFA from Queens University of Charlotte. She is a teaching artist, educator, and conservationist, who leads a nonprofit organization in Norfolk, Virginia.

Luisa A. Igloria is the author of Caulbearer (Immigrant Writing Series Prize, Black Lawrence Press; 2024), Maps for Migrants and Ghosts (Co-Winner, 2019 Crab Orchard Open Poetry Prize, Southern Illinois University Press, 2020),The Buddha Wonders if She is Having a Mid-Life Crisis (Phoenicia Publishing, Montreal, 2018), 12 other books, and 4 chapbooks. She was the inaugural recipient of the 2015 Resurgence Poetry Prize, UK—the world’s first major award for ecopoetry (now known as the Ginkgo Prize), selected by a panel headed by former UK Poet Laureate Andrew Motion. She is lead editor, along with co-editors Aileen Cassinetto and Jeremy S. Hoffman, of Dear Human at the Edge of Time: Poems on Climate Change in the United States (Paloma Press, September 2023). She is also co-editor, along with Aileen Cassinetto and David Hassler, of a new ecopoetry anthology to be released from Paloma Press on September 18, 2025 - THE NATURE OF OUR TIMES: POEMS 

California poet Mariam Ahmed grew up in the Bay Area and Folsom. Ahmed has an MFA in Poetry from San Diego State University and a BA in English Literature with a minor in Sociology from the University of California, Davis, where she was a student of Dr. Andy. Her work has appeared in Poetry International, The Los Angeles Review, Panorama: The Journal of Travel, Place & Nature, and many other literary journals. Her debut full-length collection, Hidden Parts, was published in January 2025. A certified Poet-Teacher with California Poets in the Schools, Ahmed spends her days guiding young writers in the classroom. She also mentors youth through local nonprofits and teaches English to newly arrived Afghan women and children. Ahmed lives in San Diego, where she enjoys teaching yoga and finding inspiration by the ocean.

The Poetry Night Reading Series takes place on first and third Thursdays of the month at 7 PM, is generously supported by the people and poets of the Sacramento Valley, by John Natsoulas, Robby Nykodym, and by members of the staff at the John Natsoulas Gallery. Your host will be Dr. Andy Jones, the poet laureate emeritus of the City of Davis. 

Find out more about Dr. Andy's Poetry Night Reading Series in Davis, California by visiting http://www.poetryindavis.com. Invite your friends to sign up for the mailing list. To learn more about Dr. Andy’s tiny media fiefdom, subscribe to his weekly newsletter at https://andyjones.substack.com.