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Welcome to the world of Merle 하늘 Geode.

Merle Geode is genre anarchist at heart, but when asked to put words to what they do, they could be described as a poet, essayist, self-taught visual artist, shamanic practitioner and a disability activist-in-the-making. They are non-binary, queer and mixed race Korean/white who is a person at home at the edges. Their existence is liminal and mutable. Such is their work. Their honors include being a UW Writing Fellow, a Loft Literary Center Mirrors & Windows Fellow, a Write Like Us mentor, and a 2022 and 2023 awardee of the Minnesota State Arts Board Creative Support for Individuals grant. Currently, Merle is an MFA candidate in Poetry at UMN Twin Cities.

Merle’s work is interdisciplinary in nature as someone who is continuing a lifelong journey in the service of stories in many forms: poetry, essays, visual art, and healing work. Merle often explores themes of grief, illness, and connection to spirit through an experiential, experimental, and non-linear lens. They consider their personal journey inseparable from their ancestors’ transgenerational trauma and healing, and silences. Merle has traveled extensively throughout the U.S. as well as ancestral places of origin in Korea and Europe, which heavily informs their relationship with spirit and place. 

Merle’s previous work as a journalist has appeared in Isthmus and Our Lives Magazine and zines in Madison, WI; Twin Cities Pride Magazine, Twin Cities Daily Planet, and  in the Twin Cities; they are also a published author in the anthology Love, Always: Partners of Trans People on Intimacy, Challenge and Resilience. They are currently working on their first picture book as an author-illustrator.

Merle’s CV is available here.