Two contemporary Inuit poets
Interviews and readings with two contemporary Inuit poets from Greenland and Alaska
Jessie Kleeman and Aisa Warden
The Arctic is currently home to a rich cultural and literary expression. It allows to overturn perspectives — often originating from outside — on this vast region that is still largely unknown.
The UArctic Chair on Representations, Perceptions and Meditations of the Arctic, led by Professor Daniel Chartier at the Université du Québec à Montréal, has conducted a series of interviews and poetry readings with two of the Arctic's greatest contemporary poets, Jessie Kleemann (Greenland) and Aisa Warden (Iñupiaq, Alaska).
This initiative allows the voices of the Inuit to be heard in universal cultural expression. The videos are freely accessible and can be used in teaching and training. They are accompanied by two complete biographies of the authors, which can be found on a website promoting Inuit literature, created by the International Laboratory for Research on Images of the North, Winter and the Arctic.
Jessie Kleeman
Jessie Kleemann (b. 1959, Upernavik, Greenland) is a pioneering visual artist, performer, and poet whose influential work has helped shape contemporary Arctic art and Greenlandic cultural expression. Trained in theatre and printmaking, she emerged as a leading voice of experimental performance in the North, using her body, video, and installation to confront colonial histories, climate change, and the resilience of Inuit traditions. Her practice—spanning poetry, installation, and interdisciplinary performance—links traditional knowledge with avant-garde forms, creating powerful statements on identity, land, and Indigenous futurities.
Kleemann has exhibited and performed widely across Greenland, Denmark, Europe, and North America, building bridges between Arctic communities and international audiences. She has co-founded artists’ associations, directed Greenland’s Art School, and collaborated with Inuit, Sámi, and Greenlandic artists to create works that act as living spaces of learning and gathering. Her landmark projects, such as KINAASUNGA, Arkhticós Dolorôs and Orsoq, have become touchstones in decolonial and environmental approaches to Arctic arts, while her trilingual poetry extends these themes into new literary platforms.
Recipient of the prestigious Eckersberg Medal and numerous other honors, Kleemann continues to push the boundaries of Arctic art, making Greenland visible as a site of creativity, resilience, and cultural innovation. Her work stands at the crossroads of tradition and experimentation, bridging past, present, and future Inuit worlds while amplifying Indigenous voices across the circumpolar North.
A full biography of Jessie Kleemann can be found here on the website Inuit literatures.
Interview
Greenlandic poet and performer Jessie Kleemann was the guest of Professor Daniel Chartier at the Université du Québec à Montréal.
Together, they conducted this interview about contemporary art from Greenland, the blending of traditional Inuit elements and current political values in her work, her multilingual poetry collection Arkhticós Dolorôs, the myth of Sedna, climate change, the creation of cultural institutions in Greenland, and Jessie Kleemann's decisive encounter with activist Saami artists.
This interview is part of the work of the UArctic Chair on Images, Perceptions and Mediations of the Arctic, the International Laboratory for Research on Images of the North, Winter and the Arctic, at the Université du Québec à Montréal (nord.uqam.ca) and the project to promote Inuit literature (inuit.uqam.ca/en) funded by the Canadian History Fund of Heritage Canada. This content was recorded by UQAM's Service audiovisuel production team.
Reading of excepts of the poem “Arkhticós Dolorôs” by Jessie Kleemann
Greenlandic poet and performer Jessie Kleemann was the guest of Professor Daniel Chartier at the Université du Québec à Montréal.
Here she recites extracts from her multilingual book of poetry Arkhticós Dolorôs.
In Greenlandic, Danish and English.
This poetry is part of the work of the UArctic Chair on Images, Perceptions and Mediations of the Arctic, the International Laboratory for Research on Images of the North, Winter and the Arctic, at the Université du Québec à Montréal (nord.uqam.ca) and the project to promote Inuit literature (inuit.uqam.ca/en) funded by the Canadian History Fund of Heritage Canada. This content was recorded by UQAM's Service audiovisuel production team.
Aisa Warden
Aisa Warden (b. 1972, Fairbanks, Alaska) is an Iñupiaq rapper, poet, performer, and visual artist whose groundbreaking work has helped shape contemporary Arctic culture. First known as AKU-MATU, she emerged as a leading voice of Indigenous hip-hop in the North, using music and performance to revitalize the Iñupiaq language and challenge stereotypes about Arctic peoples. Her practice—spanning rap, spoken word, installations, and interdisciplinary performance—links traditional knowledge with experimental forms, creating powerful statements on climate change, identity, and Indigenous futurities.
Warden has performed and exhibited widely across Alaska, Canada, Greenland, and Northern Europe, building connections between Arctic communities and international audiences. She has collaborated with Inuit, Sámi, and Greenlandic artists, co-founded dance and performance groups, and developed installations that function as living community spaces, echoing Inupiat traditions of learning and gathering. Her performances, such as Ode to the Polar Bearand siku/siku, have become touchstones in ecofeminist and decolonial approaches to the Arctic arts, while her Twitter poems and multimedia projects extend these themes into new platforms.
Recipient of the Alaska Governor’s Award for the Arts and Humanities and numerous other honors, Warden continues to push the boundaries of Arctic art, making the circumpolar North visible as a site of creativity, resilience, and cultural innovation. Her work stands at the crossroads of tradition and experimentation, bridging past, present, and future Iñupiaq worlds while amplifying Indigenous voices across the Arctic.
A full biography of Aisa Warden can be found here on the website Inuit literatures.
Interview
Multidisciplinary artist and poet Aisa Warden (formerly also known as Allison Akootchook Warden), a member of the Iñupiaq community of Kaktovik in northern Alaska, was the guest of Professor Daniel Chartier at the Université du Québec à Montréal.
Together, they conducted an interview in which they discussed the importance of the Iñupiaq language in the arts, poetry, rap, decolonial political approaches in Inuit and First Nations arts, and the challenges of identity for an Iñupiaq artist.
This interview is part of the work of the UArctic Chair on Images, Perceptions and Mediations of the Arctic, the International Laboratory for Research on Images of the North, Winter and the Arctic, at the Université du Québec à Montréal (nord.uqam.ca) and the project to promote Inuit literature (inuit.uqam.ca/en) funded by the Canadian History Fund of Heritage Canada. This content was recorded by UQAM's Service audiovisuel production team.
The interview was subsequently published in Inter-Nord. International Journal of Arctic Studies and can be downloaded from the Archipel institutional website.
Reading of the poem “We acknowledge ourselves” by Aisa Warden
Multidisciplinary artist and poet Aisa Warden (formerly also known as Allison Akootchook Warden), a member of the Iñupiaq community of Kaktovik in northern Alaska, was the guest of Professor Daniel Chartier at the Université du Québec à Montréal.
Here she recites her poem “We acknowledge ourselves”.
This reading is part of the work of the UArctic Chair on Images, Perceptions and Mediations of the Arctic, the International Laboratory for Research on Images of the North, Winter and the Arctic, at the Université du Québec à Montréal (nord.uqam.ca) and the project to promote Inuit literature (inuit.uqam.ca/en) funded by the Canadian History Fund of Heritage Canada. This content was recorded by UQAM's Service audiovisuel production team.
Reading of the poem “Let's try it this way for the last ones” by Aisa Warden
Multidisciplinary artist and poet Aisa Warden (formerly also known as Allison Akootchook Warden), a member of the Iñupiaq community of Kaktovik in northern Alaska, was the guest of Professor Daniel Chartier at the Université du Québec à Montréal.
Here she recites her poem “We acknowledge ourselves”.
This reading is part of the work of the UArctic Chair on Images, Perceptions and Mediations of the Arctic, the International Laboratory for Research on Images of the North, Winter and the Arctic, at the Université du Québec à Montréal (nord.uqam.ca) and the project to promote Inuit literature (inuit.uqam.ca/en) funded by the Canadian History Fund of Heritage Canada. This content was recorded by UQAM's Service audiovisuel production team.
