Our Wonder Woman this week is a climate change activist who is leading the charge for Pacific Islanders refusing to have their voices silenced over the future fate of their nations' ecologies. Kathy Jetnil-Kijiner was born in the Marshall Islands where the effects of climate change are painfully obvious. Coasts are disappearing and islands are sinking under the rising sea levels. Without immediate help, some nations of the Pacific will- and this is not a metaphor or an overstatement- completely cease to exist. Jetnil-Kijiner began writing poetry and essays on the effects of climate change on Pacific nations, earning early praise for her powerful work. That praise helped her earn a spot in attending Mills College in California where she obtained a Bachelor's Degree.
Kathy Jetnil-Kijiner was gaining international attention for her poetry on climate change, and became a public performer for her craft on several international stages- including in front of the United Nations. Jetnil-Kijiner later attended the University of Hawaii at Manoa in their prestigious Pacific Island Studies program. (Take it from one accomplished anthropologist who has tried and failed to even get my foot in the door for this program; getting into that program is a big deal.) So far, Jetnil-Kijiner has published two books of her poetry, and she's currently working on getting her PhD from the Australian National University; so there is likely a long future of work from this poetess we'll live to see.
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