Bangkok-born, Hot Springs-based poet Kai Coggin has never averted from the political in her work, whether that’s down-casing the President’s name, interpreting the ramifications of police brutality or connecting the political to the personal in poems like “Her,” recited this year in celebration of National Coming Out Day. Coggin leads the long-running Wednesday Night Poetry Series (now happening virtually); is the author of poetry collection, “Periscope Heart,” “Wingspan” and “Incandescent”; and was voted Best Poet by readers of the Arkansas Times this year. Here’s one of her latest, “This America.”
