Kira Rambles

How a conversation with journalist Dr. Kathryn Miles about covering the sinking of the Bounty reminded me of an unsafe tall ship I’ve worked on In one of our Nature Writing classes this week, my Western Colorado University MFA cohort had the privilege of talking with Kathryn Miles about her book Trailed: One Woman’s Quest…

Using a combination of traditional verse and prose poetry, Jose Hernandez Diaz explores his Mexican-American Identity, art, language, and the absurdity of life In the title prose poem of The Parachutist, Jose Hernandez Diaz portrays a man waging war against the mundane. And that’s what this collection does in every piece. Through explorations of how…

In October, I called my friend Marc, a Barcelona native and my best friend when I lived in Spain for two years studying and working in outdoor education. When I asked him about his work, he told me, “Me he quedado sin trabajo.” I have found myself without a job.  I laughed at the casual…

On February 13th, the White House created the Make America Healthy (MAHA) commision. Shortly thereafter, its policies on government downsizing gutted Forest Service and National Park staffing, yet the very chronic health issues MAHA claims to address are almost universally improved by access to the outdoors.  According to the commission’s fact sheet, it will address…

On January 28th, Donald Trump signed an executive order banning gender-affirming care in the US for patients under 19. In the weeks since, Colorado hospitals like Children’s, Denver Health, and UC Health have stopped scheduling patients for this care, even though it reduces suicide rates, citing their need for federal funding, notwithstanding the fact Colorado’s…

I was born because my father got kicked out of law school. A first generation college student, let alone graduate student, he had no financial support from his family, and he worked full time through his secondary and postsecondary education. After completing the first two years of his Juris Doctor at the University of Colorado…