The Thorn Bears Flowers. An interactive poetry workshop at the HT25 Hub presented by Shangri La Museum and facilitated by Hawaiʻi Poet Laureate and HT25 artist, Brandy Nālani McDougall, and Shangri La Assoc. Director of Programs and Social Practice, Navid Najafi.

"The Thorn Bears Flowers" is a timeless idiom that speaks to the delicate truth that beauty and goodness can bloom even amidst life's harshest challenges, where thorns are found, flowers may still emerge. It reminds us that, often, from struggle and adversity, something beautiful can grow. In this interactive workshop, participants will have the opportunity to explore poetic elements found in Shangri La’s historic collection of Islamic art along with activating the contemporary works of Hawaiʻi 2025 Triennial artists Brandy Nālani McDougall and Yazan Khalili.

This poetry workshop invites individuals of all experience levels who are passionate about words, whether they are newcomers to writing or seasoned poets. It caters to teens and adults eager to explore poetry as a powerful medium for creative expression, introspection, and connection. Whether participants wish to learn the fundamentals or enhance their unique voice and technique, this workshop creates a supportive environment for writers to develop their skills, exchange ideas, and grow.​

About Brandy Nālani McDougall

From the ahupuaʻa of Aʻapueo in Kula, Maui, Brandy Nālani McDougall (Kanaka ʻŌiwi, she/her/ʻo ia) is the author of two poetry collections, The Salt-Wind, Ka Makani Paʻakai(Kuleana ʻŌiwi Press, 2008) and ʻĀina Hānau, Birth Land (University of Arizona Press, 2023). Her critical monograph Finding Meaning: Kaona and Contemporary Hawaiian Literature (University of Arizona Press, 2016) is the first extensive study of contemporary Hawaiian literature and was the winner of the 2017 Beatrice Medicine Award for Scholarship in American Indian Studies. She is an Associate Professor of American Studies (specializing in Indigenous studies) at the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa. She is the Hawaiʻi Poet Laureate for 2023-2025. Her creative work is currently featured in the Hawaiʻi Triennial 2025 and as part of the City and County of Honolulu’s Wahi Pana Public Art Initiative. She lives with her keiki in Mānoa in the ahupuaʻa of Waikīkī on Oʻahu. 

About Navid Najafi

Navid Najafi is the Associate Director of Programs & Social Practice at Shangri La Museum of Islamic Art, Culture and Design in Honolulu, Hawaii, a Center of the Doris Duke Foundation.  He is an arts professional and hip hop artist of Persian decent with work that explore themes of culture, migration, remembrance, and solidarity. He is a three-time Na Hoku Hanohano award winner for Hip-Hop Album of the Year. In 2013, along with his hip hop crew the Super Groupers, he founded Soundshop, a hip hop and arts education program for public school students at the Honolulu Museum of Art. Najafi currently sits on the board of Hui o Kuapā, a non-profit on Molokai which educates about Hawaiian resource management through hands-on experiences, creative expression, and fishpond restoration.