Indigenous Poet Heather Hall Shares Her Journey at CU Writer's Studio

Hall discusses building a writing community, overcoming challenges, and keeping the poetry tradition alive.

Published on Feb. 20, 2026

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Heather Hall, an indigenous poet, entrepreneur, and defender of the freedom to read, recently spoke at the CU Writer's Studio about her path to becoming a poet. Hall owns and operates Green Feather Book Company in Norman, Oklahoma, where she highlights underrepresented indigenous writers. She discussed the importance of building writing communities, overcoming the fear of reading work aloud, and sustaining a poetry tradition even when venues closed down.

Why it matters

Hall's story showcases the power of community in nurturing writers, especially those from marginalized backgrounds. Her efforts to promote indigenous voices in publishing and her commitment to keeping the poetry tradition alive despite challenges inspire other aspiring writers to find their voice and build supportive networks.

The details

At the CU Writer's Studio event, Hall shared how she discovered her passion for poetry after attending a poetry slam event in her hometown. She emphasized the value of surrounding yourself with like-minded writers, as it helped her grow in her craft and performance skills. Hall also discussed the challenges new writers face, such as the fear of reading work aloud, and encouraged them to take the first step and immerse themselves in the writing community. When the local poetry venue Medina's closed in the 1990s, Hall and other poets maintained their tradition by creating a phone chain to notify each other of weekly meeting locations in their homes.

  • The CU Writer's Studio event featuring Heather Hall took place on February 2, 2026.
  • Hall started reading and performing poetry about a year before attending her first poetry slam event at Medina's.

The players

Heather Hall

An indigenous poet, entrepreneur, and defender of the freedom to read. She owns and operates Green Feather Book Company in Norman, Oklahoma, where she focuses on highlighting indigenous writers who are underrepresented in the publishing world.

Green Feather Book Company

A bookstore owned and operated by Heather Hall in Norman, Oklahoma, that specializes in promoting indigenous writers and their work.

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What they’re saying

“About a year after I started reading and performing poetry, I went to Medina's for the first time and found my people. I found poets older than myself, who could usher me along in my performance and in my writing.”

— Heather Hall (aggiecentral.com)

“Building a community is as simple as being there, as simple as sitting in the seat that you're sitting in and participating in something that has the potential to evolve and snowball into something very different than you ever imagined.”

— Heather Hall (aggiecentral.com)

“The steps that you take today to build community are the steps that later you look back on and go, 'Wow, I didn't know that was gonna last that long.'”

— Heather Hall (aggiecentral.com)

What’s next

Hall plans to continue hosting poetry readings and slams at Green Feather Book Company to support and nurture the local writing community.

The takeaway

Heather Hall's story underscores the importance of building inclusive writing communities, especially for marginalized voices. Her efforts to promote indigenous authors and sustain a poetry tradition, even in the face of challenges, serve as an inspiration for aspiring writers to find their voice and connect with like-minded individuals.