artandfaithunplugged.com](https://www.artandfaithunplugged.com/) When it seems like too many things are falling apart and too many people are being too terrible, it’s easy to become too hopeless, too discouraged, and too angry. Instead of complaining and raging about the church's failures, the government's failures, and everyone else's failures, we can focus more on things like art and faith that help us navigate the joys and pains of everyday life. Art matters because it helps us belong to ourselves, others, God, and the world. Art and Faith Unplugged and its host Charlotte Donlon make space for conversations and writing that explore how art deepens our belongings and the ways art intersects with faith, doubt, and mystery. Welcome. We hope Art and Faith Unplugged helps you notice the ways art and faith help you flourish and belong. Visit artandfaithunplugged.com (https://www.artandfaithunplugged.com/) for the show notes for this episode, essays, articles, and news about art, faith, and belonging. Ashley M. Jones and Kaveh Akbar join Charlotte for a conversation about Ashley's newest book of poems, Reparations Now!, which is available now wherever books are sold. Ashley and Kaveh discuss a few of Ashley's poems from Reparations Now! and explore how poems and writing poetry help us belong to ourselves, others, God, and the world. Also, thunder makes several appearances, which is pretty cool. Learn more about Ashley, her work, and her writing at https://ashleymjonespoetry.com/ Learn more about Kaveh, his work, and his writing at http://kavehakbar.com/ _More about Art and Faith Unplugged's host: Charlotte Donlon is a writer, a certified spiritual director for writers at Writing Life Spiritual Direction (https://www.writinglifespiritualdirection.com/), and host of Art and Faith Unplugged (https://www.artandfaithunplugged.com/). Charlotte’s writing and work are rooted in noticing how art helps us belong to ourselves, others, God, and the world. Her writing has appeared in The Washington Post, The Curator, The Christian Century, Christianity Today, Catapult, The Millions, Mockingbird, and elsewhere. Her first book is The Great Belonging: How Loneliness Leads Us to Each Other (https://charlottedonlon.com/the-great-belonging-book). You can subscribe to her newsletter (https://charlottedonlon.substack.com/) and connect with her on Twitter (https://twitter.com/charlottedonlon) and Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/charlottedonlon/).