Press Releases

Planetize the Movement with Activist Poet Drew Dellinger

BOULDER, Colo. (April 7, 2009)—On May 1, Poet Activist Drew Dellinger will deliver a talk in the Events Center on Naropa University’s Nalanda Campus. Beginning at 7 p.m., Planetize the Movement: New Possibilities for Ecological Healing and Social Justice will combine poetry with discussion of environmental/social justice, politics and activism. It is free and open to the public.

During his performance, sponsored by Naropa’s Environmental Studies Department, Dellinger will identify core values common to ecology, social justice and cosmology such as “personhood,” which acknowledges the sacredness of every individual being, and community, which emphasizes the primacy of relationship. “Our department is alternative,” says faculty member Jeanine Canty, PhD, "and Dellinger sparks environmental change using spirit, consciousness changing and activism.”

Dellinger is the founder of Poets for Global Justice. He has spoken and performed at numerous conferences, including Bioneers, the Green Festival and The Dream Reborn, as well as colleges, poetry venues, protests and places of worship. His work has appeared in several anthologies and magazines, including The New York Times Magazine. Dellinger has studied cosmology and ecological thought with Thomas Berry since 1990 and is finishing his PhD at the California Institute of Integral Studies.

Accredited by the Higher Learning Commission of the North Central Association of Colleges and Schools, Naropa University is a private, nonprofit, nonsectarian liberal arts institution dedicated to advancing contemplative education. This approach to learning integrates the best of Eastern and Western educational traditions, helping students know themselves more deeply and engage constructively with others. The university comprises a four-year undergraduate college and graduate programs in the arts, education, environmental leadership, psychology and religious studies.