Entangled Empathy”: Ecofeminism And the Intersectional Self in Poetry

Blue Cactus Press invites you to participate in a FREE, virtual poetry workshop facilitated by BCP author Esther Vincent Xueming on June 17, 2021, at 7 PM (PST). In this workshop, we will examine Gaard’s definition of ecofeminism, which focuses on the politics of relations or “interbeing” as essential to how the woman finds herself located in time and place as an intersectional being. We will further explore the concept of empathy, and discuss Gruen’s metaphor of “entangled empathy” which Gaard relates to “compassion and action” typified by eco-social justice. With these understandings in mind, we will read poems using an intersectional ecofeminist lens in order to answer these questions: How can an intersectional ecofeminist reading of a poem empower marginalised groups and promote eco-social justice? Can poetry enable us to (in the words of Donna Haraway) ‘make kin’ with other person-beings that we share this earth with, and in doing so, cultivate an “entangled empathy” to foster compassion and action? To find out more about the workshop and Esther Vincent Xueming, and to register for the event (registration required), see the Entangled Empathy workshop page, here.