When it comes to language especially, queer Indigenous poet Tommy Pico has forged his own exhilarating path through the thicket. In Nature Poem, the second in a tetralogy featuring Teebs, a persona or alter ego for himself, Pico swirls together social media–speak and urban vernacular with pop references, postcolonial critique, witty observations, and arresting images (a jelly bean moon, a dampening Christina Aguilera shirt) as he explores his Kumeyaay heritage and his relationship to nature. Despite the title of this extended poem, he insists he won’t write a nature poem until about three-quarters of the way through the work, when he says, “Let’s be clear, I hate nature— / hate its guts / I say to my audience,” but continues, “There is something smaller I say to myself: I don’t hate nature at all. Places have / thoughts—hills have backs that love being / stroked by our eyes.” And then…he recants. Nature Poem keeps us on our toes, and it’s a joy.
AUTHOR TOMMY PICO IN CONVERSATION WITH JOHN FREEMAN
- When: Thursday, October 15, 2026, 5 p.m. Pacific time.
- Format: Freeman will lead a free hour-long conversation with Pico, which will include a reading by the author and questions from the audience. Produced by Alta Journal for streaming on Zoom.
