Aeka Joshi

It’s the last Friday of 2020, and that means it’s the last Poetry Friday of the year, as well. Today, we take a look back at a difficult year by way of the poems listeners submitted: from a frontline nurse, to a teenager stuck at home, to an up-and-coming poet who uses writing to manage his OCD. This year’s Poetry Friday segments represent a timeline of how the coronavirus pandemic took hold of the world and our lives.

In this week’s Poetry Friday segment, we hear from one of our regular contributors, 14-year-old Aeka Joshi. She’s at home with her family in Flagstaff, adjusting to online school and working on her sewing skills. Aeka says textile art is a tradition among the women in her family and, for her, it’s a way to find peace amid the chaos. Here is Aeka Joshi with her original poem Needlework In The Pandemic. AJ:  I haven’t been sewing a lot lately since about the start of 8th grade.

It’s the last Friday of 2019 and that means the last installment of Poetry Friday for the year. Today, we hear from the series producer, KNAU’s Gillian Ferris. She highlights some of the most memorable segments of 2019 and shares a poem for everyone who contributed to Poetry Friday during a year of intense news stories and divisive opinions. GF: 13 year old Aeka Joshi was one of the youngest poets this year.