For immediate release

Information: info@cannonbeachlibrary.org

Poet, artist and author Jessica Mehta will discuss her writings and read her poetry at the Cannon Beach Library at 2 p.m. Saturday, May 13.

This is a free, hybrid event; attend the event at the library or watch online: www.cannonbeachlibrary.org.

The award-winning interdisciplinary poet, artist and author is hosted by the library’s NW Authors Series.

The Oregon author of 15 books, Mehta will discuss “Decolonization on a Global Scale.” Her works have been described as organic, powerful and vulnerable. Space, place and ancestry are driving factors in her work.

Mehta has undertaken poetry and artist residencies around the globe, including the Shakespeare Birthplace Trust in Stratford-Upon-Avon and the Crazy Horse Memorial and museum in South Dakota. Her work has been featured at galleries and exhibitions in Washington DC, Sweden and New Mexico. She also was a Fulbright Senior Scholar.

“My goal as a person and an artist is to inform, create conversations and in many cases to educate—particularly non-indigenous audiences,” says Mehta, a citizen of the Cherokee Nation. “The key word here is ‘goal,’ not ‘responsibility.’”

“The emotional, mental, spiritual and oftentimes physical labor of educating non-indigenous audiences is not for everyone. It is a gift some of us offer when, where and how we can. It is not a requirement of any Native person.”