On March 10, 2022, Professor Ronald Briggs, associate professor of Spanish and Latin American cultures, published an article in the NACLA Report on the Americas. The work, titled “Poetry and Politics in Kari’ña Territory,” includes an interview with poet Morela Maniero discussing her activism and latest bilingual literary collection.
In the interview, Professor Briggs highlights how Maniero’s work as an activist in Indigenous politics has impacted her poetry. While poetry is fairly unknown to the Kari’ña community in Venezuela, Maniero uses it as a vehicle to share her people's traditions and values with the world. Her poetry draws inspiration from nature to create “magical symbolism that offers an exercise in personal reflection,” and focuses on giving a voice to thousands of years of cultural exchange in order to preserve Kari’ña history.