Poet Teaching Artist
Storyteller Social Justice Educator
The language of story and poetry stands as witness to our collective humanity.
What better way to open the closed borders of our own hearts and tear down walls that separate us than to listen with full attention to each other’s stories?
Just published!
The newest book from the Stories of Arrival: Refugee and Immigrant Youth Voices Poetry Project The Voice of my Heart: Unforgettable Memories in an Unforgettable Year is now available for order from Seattle's Chin Music Press.
“Poetry can help others understand what young people like me who come to the U.S. as refugees or immigrants experience by its magical power—the power of connecting a reader's heart and a writer's heart. It can engage their brain nerves by its classical dances”.
-2020 Stories of Arrival Poetry Project student, from Eritrea
“Merna is co-creating a world I want to see .... where no narrative is hidden but all narratives are equally valued”.
Charis May Hnin, Founder & Principal at Talitha Consults on Merna’s teaching at the Institute of International Education Julia Stasch Scholarship for Refugees.- Leadership Training Summer Program, 2020