Oka, Cynthia Dewi

Cynthia Dewi Oka was born and raised in Bali, Indonesia, migrated to Canada when she was 10 years old, then later to the US. Originally a painter and pianist by training, she turned to poetry as a young adult to explore and communicate experiences of displacement. At 17, she gave birth to her son, and subsequently put herself through college as a single working mother.



With a background in community organizing around issues of migrant justice, Indigenous sovereignty, violence against women, and gentrification, Cynthia is passionate about amplifying the poetics and poetry that em...