Fatima-Ayan Malika Hirsi, 37, has built a career out of turning systematic struggles into words of art. The Dallas-raised poet's debut full-length collection, Dream for Earth , was released this month by Dallas independent publisher Deep Vellum. The book gathers five years of poems written across Dallas, Oregon and Canada tackling themes of motherhood, climate grief and resilience.

Hirsi is the author of chapbooks Moon Woman and Everything Good is Dying. Her work has been featured in journals such as Obsidian: Literature & Arts in the African Diaspora .

Fatima-Ayan Malika Hirsi / Courtesy

“I've just always loved telling stories,” she said. “Right now that manifests as poetry. And most of my life, it's manifested as poetry.”

Hirsi spoke with us about the politics running thr

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