Our presenters are curated for their quality, depth, integrity, and alignment with our educational purpose. Since 1982, a distinguished faculty of authors, educators, activists, artists, performers, and practitioners have shared their work at our Cortes Island campus and in Vancouver.
Brynn Saito
Brynn Saito is a poet, organizer, and Assistant Professor of Creative Writing and English at California State University, Fresno. She is the author of two books of poetry, Power Made Us Swoon (2016) and The Palace of Contemplating Departure (2013), winner of the Benjamin Saltman Award from Red Hen Press and a finalist for the Northern California Book Award.
Brynn is a two-time recipient of the California State Library’s Civil Liberties Public Education grant for her work with Yonsei Memory Project (YMP). Co-founded with farmer and artist, Nikiko Masumoto, YMP uses art and storytelling to connect the WWII-era incarceration of the Japanese American community with current struggles for justice. In 2019, Brynn was featured in Vogue magazine for her work with YMP and was an artist-in-residence at Santa Fe Art Institute’s “Truth and Reconciliation” program. Her poetry has appeared in the New York Times, the American Poetry Review, and was featured in the opening ceremony for The People’s Inauguration, a 10-day event inspiring collective action and healing led by activist, Valarie Kaur.