Written by Saturday, June 26 at 5pm HST
The second event in the Carrying Culture: Micronesia series will be moderated by Dr. James Perez Viernes of the Pacific Islands Development Program, featuring young and emerging Micronesian poets including Carol Ann Carl, Resida Keller, and student poet Ifit Hoppe-Cruz.
Carol Ann Carl is a daughter of the beautiful island of Pohnpei in the Federated States of Micronesia. Having graduated with her Bachelor of Science in Biochemistry at the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa, she now lives and works in Hawaiʻi. Currently, Carol Ann is the Grants & Development Assistant at Kōkua Kalihi Valley Comprehensive Family Services. She is a Micronesian advocate and activist whose work in the community revolves around Micronesian youth and women. As a storyteller, her collective work KEWERIWER is a collection of writing and poetry that explores the social context of her life and her life as a transformer of that social context. Most recently her work has been featured in the 2021 Sundance Film Festival, Celebrate Micronesia Festival, and the Why It Matters civic engagement docuseries for the Hawaiʻi Council for the Humanities.
Resida Samson Keller is an educator, storyteller and mother originally from Pohnpei State, FSM, more specifically the small outer island atoll of Pingelap. She counts herself as fortunate to have had opportunities to teach in Hawaii, at the College of Micronesia-FSM in Pohnpei and currently, at the Northern Marianas College in the CNMI. As a teacher and active community member, the sharing of her culture and her experiences allows her to connect with the youth and to highlight issues that affect them. Although she loves to write, most of what she writes is written with herself as the intended audience. It is the outlet where she can untangle her thoughts, clarify her understanding and cement the knowledge that she is learning each day. But most importantly, it grounds her and connects her to her family, her island and her heritage.
About Carrying Culture: Micronesia
The Honolulu Museum of Art‘s Carrying Culture: Micronesia is a three-part series from May 29 to November 27, 2021 highlighting poets and poetry as carriers of culture with a focus on Micronesia. The series is presented in partnership with the Pacific Islands Development Program (PIDP).
Photo courtesy Sou’sed Productions