Dana Henry Martin

Essays

  • T4 Centers

    Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s language about people with autism in some ways parallels what Nazis said about Germans with physical… Read more.

    Dana Henry Martin
    3–4 minutes

  • On Poetry and Healing

    I don’t approach poems as therapy. I just come to them as myself. Poems allow us to reclaim our stories,… Read more.

    Dana Henry Martin
    2–3 minutes

  • What Happened

    Sexual violations can take time to understand, to come into our consciousness. What is was. What it’s called. Knowing what… Read more.

    Dana Henry Martin
    3–4 minutes

  • Light Music

    Morning. I feel my hair feathering the sides of my face, a sensation I don’t like but can’t remedy because… Read more.

    Dana Henry Martin
    3–4 minutes

  • The Writing Life. Parting Words.

    I wrote the essay below years ago for a literary organization that ran a series whose focus was on discussing… Read more.

    Dana Henry Martin
    17–26 minutes

  • The Letter

    Several years ago, the poet who sexually assaulted me circulated a letter about me within the poetry community. In it,… Read more.

    Dana Henry Martin
    2–3 minutes

  • Five Things Addendum

    I want to add to my November 16 post about five things that have happened to me as a female-bodied… Read more.

    Dana Henry Martin
    1–2 minutes

  • Five Things That Have Happened to Me as a Female-Bodied Poet

    I returned to poetry in 2022 with one vow: to never let anyone silence me again, threaten me again, terrify… Read more.

    Dana Henry Martin
    3–4 minutes

  • The Time Capsule of My Body

    I feel this sadness spreading across the time capsule of my body. My cells remember this sadness and pull toward… Read more.

    Dana Henry Martin
    2–3 minutes

  • Morning Prayer October 16, 2024

    I’m listening to the chickens on the other side of La Verkin Creek over in the Cholla neighborhood where people… Read more.

    Dana Henry Martin
    2–3 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.