Dana Henry Martin

Essays

  • Wonder

    I guess what I want to say about land is that it continues even after we’ve left it, even after… Read more.

    Dana Henry Martin
    2–4 minutes

  • Hard Pills

    I have a new iteration on my concept of collecting soil samples from mass-institutionalization-era psychiatric asylums and hospitals in the… Read more.

    Dana Henry Martin
    2–3 minutes

  • Post Oaks of Oklahoma

    I met Scott LaMascus last night in Oklahoma City at McBride Center Writers, the generative workshop he and Aaron Pogue… Read more.

    Dana Henry Martin
    3–4 minutes

  • Seedbox

    Poems that occur outside are becoming less popular, especially poems in, about, and from wild places. We increasingly live in… Read more.

    Dana Henry Martin
    2–3 minutes

  • Slugs

    He’s one of those slugs that works in all kinds of vending machines. I’m a beat-up quarter that keeps falling… Read more.

    Dana Henry Martin
    2–3 minutes

  • Naming Names

    I’ve been thinking a great deal about a comment left on Facebook in response to my last post that merits… Read more.

    Dana Henry Martin
    3–4 minutes

  • Experts in the Field

    It’s not that bad, they say. It happened a long time ago, they say. He was drunk, they say. One… Read more.

    Dana Henry Martin
    3–5 minutes

  • December 25, 2025

    The laccolith shoulders this inelegant sky, nothing to write home about, as if this weren’t home now but that other… Read more.

    Dana Henry Martin
    2–4 minutes

  • Frictions

    “Nothing about us without us.” That’s a guiding principle in the disability-rights movement. It applies to the mental-health justice and… Read more.

    Dana Henry Martin
    5–8 minutes

  • More Abuses in Poetry

    I’m reflecting on how I could have stopped writing poetry at any of a number of points over the past… Read more.

    Dana Henry Martin
    4–6 minutes

PROCESS

  • Map and Research: Investigate the historical, geological, and ecological context of each collection site or reverse the direction, mapping sites based on ancestral and historical narratives.
  • Forage: Gather natural materials ethically, respectfully, and with permission.
  • Transform: Process foraged materials into custom mediums and physical resources for art-making.
  • Weave: Track the stories held within the land, braiding personal, ancestral, and ecological histories.
  • Create: Generate studies and finished artwork informed by the sites and physically composed of the materials collected.

  • Limits: Not all sites will be safe or accessible, which means some spaces cannot be entered, and some stories will remain incomplete. An empty container can signify these omissions.

purpose

ethics

Responsible Exploration: Committing to mindful presence, permission-based foraging, and minimal-impact exploration on every site.

Meaning

Embodied Storytelling: Engaging in sensory, place-based creation that connects the maker and viewer to the specific location and to the physical earth.

Reclamation: Unearthing and honoring lost, fractured, or overlooked histories embedded in the landscape.

Material Transformation: Celebrating the alchemy of turning raw, gathered earth into tangible, expressive art.

community

Public Education: Sharing the ecological and historical narratives of the sites to foster a deeper collective awareness.

Active Participation: Creating opportunities for community participation, engagement, and shared connection through the work.