This week the Celtic Junction Arts Review published a piece of my writing in their Imbolc 2023 issue. In an introduction to the piece, I write:

“In 2013 I traveled to Ireland for the first and only time thus far. I had studied the history of British colonialism in an academic setting but this was the first moment of touching into my own relevant root story, my reamhscéal. My travel companion was my creative writing teacher, and she suggested I invite one of my Irish ancestors to keep me company on the journey. It was awkward, and surprising, and transformative, and the beginning of a journey that continues: to understand and articulate the tricky sense of connection I feel to the land and story of Ireland. This writing is pulled from my journal of that trip.”

You can read the full piece here: https://celticjunction.org/cjac/arts-review/issue-21-imbolc-2023/what-the-grandfathers-want/

I am so thrilled to be part of this community now in a closer way, though they are based in St. Paul, MN and I am out here in Santa Rosa. Since I first landed on the home page of the Celtic Junction Arts Center, with its acknowledgment of its responsibility towards Dakota and Anishanaabe communities, and its roster of rich and welcoming classes on the history, literature and language of Ireland, I felt like I had landed on a road I might travel, among companions.

Many thanks to all my companions on the journey towards a better understanding of ancestral grief and the impacts of colonization, and to my Celtic Junction Arts Center Irish language teacher and the editor of the journal, Patrick O’Donnell, for taking a chance on me. And to my grandfathers Farley and Robinson for guiding me so mysteriously.