Columns • 2nd February 2025

Column: How Mythology Retellings Can Be A Potent Form Of Activism Part 1 of 2: Climate Change

Our failures, our triumphs, our capacity for great love and personal growth, the mortal weakness of hubris, the transformative choices that make us feel either in or out of control, our often self-destructive streak, our horrifying ability to oppress others who are here with us, not for us, … Mythology is a spectacular inventory of the ways of humanity.

Columns • 17th May 2024

Column: Can Generative AI, Diversity, And Authenticity Coexist?

Generative AI has become a controversial element of our creative writing process, but we still have a pressing obligation to protect authenticity and honor the voices that need to be heard.

Columns • 1st July 2023

Column: Is Literary Censorship Robbing Us of Teachable Moments?

Changing classics to appease our current sensibilities and push sales seems to be a rather lazy and superficial approach. With targeted efforts, more value can be gained on both sides.

Columns • 1st February 2024

Column: How Fantasy and Science Fiction Literature Made Me a Better Activist. PART 2: Literary Science Fiction: Always the Most Human Stories

Building a better world starts by articulating what might initially seem abstract within the restraints of our current political and social structures. Realism and non-fiction tend to fail us in this regard by locking our minds within the existing systems. But science fiction offers us opportunities to expand our thinking into making the impossible possible through that first, crucial step: imagining it.

Columns • 1st October 2023

Column: How Fantasy and Science Fiction Literature Made Me a Better Activist - PART 1: Fantasy Literature: Framing Big Pictures and Treasuring Small Wonders

When it comes to reading, no genre inspired me as much as fantasy literature. Its aspiration to change lives, structures, even the world, through the sheer power of an often radical imagination, is deeply underestimated, and one I will explore in its ability to transform our views on both nature and animals. The fantasy genre is ever-evolving, but to show its value in my development as an animal rights and environmental activist, I will be highlighting some books I read as a child, which is when the foundations were laid.

Photo by Sides Imagery on Pexels

Columns • 20th August 2024

Column: What’s Next For The Political Poem?

Whenever social grounds fall apart, there has to be a poem. Even in my work as a journalist, I will always read poems just as much as I do data, research, and reports. Political poets write their most intimate stories, reclaim their cultural narratives, and critically dissect the public debate and agendas from a perspective we often miss.

Sketch by the author, Mieke Leenders

Fiction • 19th April 2023

Short Fiction: When Horses Choose to Speak

Published in Pensive: A Global Journal of Spirituality & the Arts - Issue 6

Fiction • 8th December 2020

Short Fiction: Our Cosmic Ties

"Our Cosmic Ties" first appeared in The Abstract Elephant Magazine - Issue No. 2 Ideologies, Belief Systems, & The Human Condition in 2020, and was later republished in the Art Inspired by Art Anthology published by Quilkeepers Press in 2022.

Humanities • 9th December 2021

The Queen Of Sheba: Philosopher, Half-Demon, And Black Feminist Icon

The Queen of Sheba visits King Solomon and stands in awe of his wisdom and riches. Why has such a simple story inspired so many legends?

Humanities • 29th January 2022

How Henry VIII’s Lack of Fertility Was Disguised by Machismo

To most, Henry VIII is not a ruler with a nuanced tale. Instead, the infamous King of England’s propaganda inspired a timeless iconography we can no longer separate from him.

Art Curator • 7th December 2023

Imprisoned - Exhibition | SAQA - Studio Art Quilt Associates

I curated an exhibition around the concept of "Imprisoned" with a global community of quilt artists.

Poetry • 7th July 2023

Two Poems: Mnemosyne’s Mouth & ​Oizys’ Touch

Short poems exploring nature of impressions, moments, and memories.

Humanities • 17th March 2022

Los Caprichos: Francisco Goya As A Social Commentator

Francisco Goya created the satirical Los Caprichos at the dawn of a new age. What are the observations he left us with?

Journalism • 30th December 2021

Author page: One Green Planet

Journalism • 14th March 2022

Man With Genetically Modified Pig Heart Dies. Was the Experiment Ethical?

Xenotransplantation still carries great risk for humans and allows animals to be tested on and farmed in unnatural environments. In the days of technological advancement and increased investment in animal welfare, is xenotransplantation really of this time?

Journalism • 17th March 2022

Europe’s Path to Renewable Energy May be Bridged by Nuclear Power and Coal

Clean energy is now more than a way to build a sustainable future. It has become a political act. With Russia’s grip tightening on Europe’s oil and gas supplies, the European Commission has announced plans to prioritize the transition to clean energy and become independent from Russian oil by 2030.

Fiction • 1st September 2021

Short Fiction: How Ordinary Yet How Perfectly Sublime

In May of 1889, Vincent van Gogh checks himself into an insane asylum after cutting off his left ear. At the same time very close by, a girl starts a diary.

Books • 9th November 2019

Book: Greater Than a Tourist - San Jose, Costa Rica

This little travel guide explores Costa Rica's capital and surrounding areas from a local perspective.

Poetry • 9th April 2022

Poem: A Mind Like A Broken Arm

A poem about how mental illness is often misunderstood in our education system.

Journalism • 25th July 2021

Coding For Compassion: Data-Driven Technology For Effective Activism

We are at the dawn of the Age of Interaction. We want to be informed, but we want to interact with the information. We want our actions to carry impact, and we want interactive data that shows us the extent of our impact. If interactive technologies with reliable data and verified impact are what we want, then how can coding activism meet this demand across the board? How can technologies be interactive, but also deliver data with impact?

Journalism • 28th September 2021

New Film Puts Environmental Impact of Animal Agriculture Center Stage

The time for the effects of animal agriculture to join the conversation about ecological collapse is long overdue. For decades, the environmental impact of animal agriculture has been blatantly ignored, but “Eating Our Way To Extinction,” a new documentary narrated by Kate Winslet, finally draws the topic to the foreground.

Humanities • 6th April 2022

How George Eliot Novelized Spinoza’s Musings on Freedom

George Eliot’s work, especially Middlemarch, is often seen as a fictional retelling of Spinoza’s Ethics. How does Spinoza’s concept of freedom take form in Eliot’s novels?

Journalism • 31st March 2022

Eric Adams’ First 100 Days in Office: Are Public Health, Sustainability, and Animal Welfare Headed in the Right Direction?

Eric Adams has been serving as the 110th mayor of New York City since January 1st, 2022. Adams is lauded for his plant-based food policies, animal welfare rallies, and environmental pledges. How has the new mayor been doing so far?

Journalism • 11th August 2022

Bioenergy And Our Forests: Wood Burning Still Pushed as a Sustainable Solution Despite Evidence to the Contrary

Assertions have been made that biomass has the potential to mitigate carbon emissions if the process is developed sustainably. At this stage, evidence suggests it is not sustainable, and its potential to curb emissions is largely uncertain. And while we seem to be rather slow in grasping the reality of our actions, the environment appears to be getting a pretty raw deal even within a strategy designed to protect it.