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Crosscurrents is our award-winning radio news magazine, broadcasting Mondays through Thursdays at 11 a.m. on 91.7 FM. We make joyful, informative stories that engage people across the economic, social, and cultural divides in our community. Listen to full episodes at kalw.org/crosscurrents

How Oakland poet Kira Allen's art workshop helps people free their minds and bodies

Kira Allen
Stephanie Mohan
Kira Allen

Our bodies are complex. Not just in the way they function, but also in how we see our bodies and they trauma they carry. This especially pertains to women. The American Psychological Association reports that women are twice as likely as men to develop PTSD.

Kira Lynne Allenknows about this personally. Her own life experience and work in the community inspired her to host workshops and retreats called embbodi. Through art, dance and writing– participants work on reclaiming their own narratives about their bodies. Her participants are usually people of color, women and those from the LGBTQIA+ community.

Kira's book, ,“Write This Second: A Poetic Memoir” is about her own journey of surviving trauma and finding her power.

Learn more about embbodi by contacting embbodi@gmail.com.

This interview was produced with help from Porfirio Rangel

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Crosscurrents
Jeneé Darden is an award-winning journalist, author, public speaker and proud Oakland native. She is the executive producer and host of the weekly arts segment Sights & Sounds as well as the series Sights + Sounds Magazine. Jeneé also covers East Oakland for KALW. Jeneé has reported for NPR, Marketplace, KQED, KPCC, The Los Angeles Times, Ebony magazine, Refinery29 and other outlets. In 2005, she reported on the London transit bombings for Time magazine. Prior to coming to KALW, she hosted the podcast Mental Health and Wellness Radio.