Chemist. Poet. Fifth-degree black belt. Meet Ryka Aoki, author of the new Lamba Literary Award-nominated book of poetry (and more), Seasonal Velocities. In this interview, we discuss her previous job doing weird science (really, really weird science), publishing her book with a brand-new DIY all-trans press, and her Lamba Literary Award nomination. Highlights include how judo prepared her for a life in the social justice movement, how being an abuse victim helped prepare her for an MFA in poetry, why your "movement" work doesn't have to end in becoming jaded and burning out.

This interview was originally recorded May 11th, 2013.

This is only 1/3 of the podcast. You can find the rest at gumroad.com/artactivistnia.

Read the transcript at scribd.com/artactivistnia. Support the podcast at patreon.com/artactivistnia. Find more episodes at artactivistnia.com.