founder
“My words bring many worlds together: poetry & magic, writing & performance, English & Tamil & Spanish & song & the music of what can happen.”
I was born in Seattle, Washington, and have lived and worked in Tamil Nadu, India, and Oaxaca, Mexico. Recent books include The Safety of Edges (poems), Give, Eat, and Live: Poems of Avvaiyar (translations from Tamil), and Body and Earth: Notes from a Conversation (with the artist C.F. John). Beacon Press will be publishing my translation of the great Tamil classic of poetry and philosophy, The Kural, in 2021, with an introduction by Andrew Harvey. I am also currently completing a translation of Juan Rulfo’s masterpiece, Pedro Páramo.
In addition to writing, I perform regionally and beyond, combining poetry, story, magic, and song in talks and presentations for the young and old alike. My solo shows include A Thousand Thanks: The Gift of Sadako and Her Cranes, and By Heart: A Celebration of Words, Magic, and Memory. I am currently revising an original show with music that I wrote with my husband, David Mielke. The show, The Driftwood Bridge: An Offering of Story and Song, had its public premiere in November 2019 at Vashon Center for the Arts.
As a teacher and tutor, I've taught elementary students, middle schoolers, high schoolers, undergraduates, and homeschoolers, and was a part of the Vashon Island School District’s StudentLink program until 2018. I now serve as Language Consultant for the Cozy Grammar series of online video courses. It's been my honor to receive grants and fellowships from the National Endowment for the Arts, 4Culture, Artist Trust, the Squaw Valley Community of Writers, the U.S. Fulbright Program, the American Literary Translators Association, Ohio State University, Oberlin Shansi, and Oberlin College.
David and I make our home on Vashon Island, Washington.
