Video poems have been an essential part of how I share stories with the world, and has evolved as I’ve grown as a writer and artist. My first video poems released on youtube was “Tell Them” and “History Project” – both were filmed by Studio Revolt while I was in London for the Poetry Parnassus Festival representing the Marshall Islands in 2012. These two poems received some attention and enabled me to become known as a poet in the wider climate activist/pacific poets/pacific scholars/nuclear activism circles. If I hadn’t uploaded my “Tell Them” video, I would not have become nominated for the role of Civil Society Speaker to the United Nations Climate Summit in 2014 – an event which changed my life and widened my audience. Since then I’ve also been filmed and interviewed in different venues such as the COP23 in Germany – these videos are also featured here. On this page, you’ll find all of my video poems, starting with the latest.
Video Poems
Rise
Read the full poem, in different languages, as well as watch behind the scenes videos at the 350.org website.
Anointed
Read the full poem in this blog post.
Monster
Performing in front of the Genbaku Dome in Hiroshima. Read the full poem and process at this blog post: https://www.kathyjetnilkijiner.com/new-year-new-monsters-and-new-poems/(opens in a new tab)
Butterfly Thief
Read the full poem and the process behind the piece at this blog post.
Islands Dropped from a Basket
Read the full poem and the process behind the piece at this blog post.
Fishbone Hair
Created in collaboration with the College of the Marshall Islands Media Club. The text of the poem is in my book.
Utilomar
Read the full poem here: https://www.kathyjetnilkijiner.com/utilomar/
Two Degrees
This isn’t the original video, but is a live performance from the COP22 in Morocco to Democracy Now. Read the full poem and process here: https://www.kathyjetnilkijiner.com/poem-2-degrees/
Dear Matafele Peinam
Full video from the opening performance at the United Nations Climate Summit 2014 which includes my opening statement. Read the full poem here https://www.kathyjetnilkijiner.com/united-nations-climate-summit-opening-ceremony-my-poem-to-my-daughter/
Dear Matafele Peinam
Another version featuring only the poem and video imagery, without the live statement.
Lessons from Hawai’i
Read the full poem here: https://www.kathyjetnilkijiner.com/micronesia-i-lessons-from-hawaii/
History Project
Read the full poem here: https://www.kathyjetnilkijiner.com/history-project/
Tell Them
Read the full poem here: https://www.kathyjetnilkijiner.com/tell-them/
Interviews and Features:
The Innovative City Forum
This was a keynote I delivered at the Innovative City Forum in Tokyo in November 2018.
Interview with NHK World News
Following my keynote I was interviewed by the NHK World News. Click the link below to view:
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/newsroomtokyo/features/20181023.html
Marshall Islands Consulate
This was a fun, informal interview with my cousin, Tamera Heine, who works at the Marshall Islands Consulate in Hawaii.
Okeanos Marshall Islands
Video by the Okeanos Marshall Islands film crew about our expedition to Enewetak for our poem video, Anointed – includes interviews with myself as well as crew members.
Democracy Now
An interview with Amy Goodman alongside my mother at the COP23 in Germany in November 2017.
Honolulu Biennial
An artist talk film series created for the Honolulu Biennial exhibit in 2017.
AJ+
A video from AJ+ news featuring lines from my poem and performance “Tell Them” which I performed at a 350 action at the COP21 in Paris.
UN COP21 Feature
A video from the UNFCCC highlighting my work and performances at the COP21.
The Fourth Branch
An interview with my friends from The Fourth Branch, a Micronesian media group based in Hawaii, about my work.
