I wrote this piece during my PhD research as a call to action during a period of time working in the community on intimate partner violence and abuse (IPVA) issues. As I began to understand the politicized nature of IPVA, and, therefore, of the body, I began focusing on structural and causal factors, codified policies and practices, and the profound effect of intergroup dynamics (such as group norm enforcement) that allow the perpetuation of violence begetting violence. 
Although my work does not conceive of the body as binary, the framing of violence in this poem as passing from the male body to the female body was intentional. This framing was designed to focus on the type of abuse I was witnessing in the groups in which I was involved. 

As an artist, I have found that, sometimes, a spoken word poem can have much more impact on intended audiences than an academic text can. I am also a researcher who strongly believes in community co-production, particularly for work that is representing community members’ daily experiences. In this case, I felt it was more effective to write and perform poetry to connect with those who harm and who are being harmed within my local community, and to acknowledge and bring awareness to the disproportionate health impacts that IPVA has in the marginalized populations in which I live. 

Solutions for IPVA have been equally politicized and codified, and yet IPVA remains “unsolved,” like many issues related to the “injusticed” body. This poem tries to tackle that as well. 

I won my first amateur poetry slam with this poem. I also went on to create a series on my community radio show regarding IPVA and the placement of art in approaching that issue, all of which featured heavily in my presentations on this topic at the 2018 American Association of Geographers Conference in New Orleans.

Heather A Davis - Killing Us

you are here: the journal of creative geography is published by graduate students in the School of Geography, Development & Environment at the University of Arizona. The journal is an annual publication that seeks to explore geographic themes through articles, fiction, poetry, essays, maps, photographs, and art.

you are here encourages submissions from geographers, historians, anthropologists, architects, scientists, writers, artists, and anyone else interested in exploring creative geography.

youarehere