The Merwin Conservancy to Host Poet and Theologian Pádraig Ó Tuama in The Green Room Series on Maui and Oʻahu

The Merwin Conservancy—a Maui-based nonprofit organization founded to steward and share the former home, garden, and legacy of the poet and ecologist W.S. Merwin—announces the next installment of The Green Room, its long-running series of arts and ecology gatherings. Celebrated Irish poet, theologian, and conflict mediator Pádraig Ó Tuama will appear on stage for two public events. These public events mark Ó Tuama’s first appearances in Hawaiʻi and take place during his 2025 summer residency at The Merwin Conservancy.

Wednesday, July 30 at the Maui Arts & Cultural Center
Thursday, July 31 at the Honolulu Museum of Art

An online broadcast will be scheduled for a later date.

Both in-person programs begin at 7:00 PM with a VIP reception for Green Room supporters—our Patrons and Hosts—taking place before the event. Tickets for the Maui event are available now at www.mauiarts.org. Details for the Oʻahu event are available at merwinconservancy.org.

Pádraig Ó Tuama (b. 1975, Cork, Ireland) is a poet whose work centers on themes of conflict, language, and spirituality. He is the author of Kitchen Hymns (Copper Canyon Press, 2025), as well as Feed the Beast and In the Shelter. He presents the acclaimed podcast Poetry Unbound from On Being Studios, and has edited two anthologies of poems from the series, published by W.W. Norton. Ó Tuama is a freelance artist and serves as poet-in-residence with the Cooperation and Conflict Resolution Center at Columbia University. He splits his time between Belfast and New York City.

In his writing and talks, Ó Tuama bridges disciplines and divides—offering insights into the spiritual and emotional terrain of conflict and reconciliation, community and kinship, power, identity, and mindfulness. His work is marked both by lyricism and pragmatism, and is celebrated for its vulnerability, warmth, and willingness to dwell in uncertainty. “The poem is preparing a place of conversation — across cultures, across continents, across life and death, and across all kinds of barriers — and preparing a place of hospitality for people to meet each other,” he said in an interview with The On Being Project. “I’m less interested in people respecting poetry. I’m really interested in people realizing that poetry respects them.”

Sonnet Coggins, Executive Director of The Merwin Conservancy, says: “Pádraig Ó Tuama is a rare and resonant voice—profound, lyrical, and deeply generous. His body of work, from poetry to podcasting to community-based conflict resolution, builds vital connections across differences and invites us to reflect on faith, identity, and our responsibilities to one another. At a time when such conversations are both urgent and fragile, his presence offers a model of poetic vision and moral imagination. We are honored to welcome Pádraig as our 2025 summer resident and to share his voice with our communities on Maui and Oʻahu through The Green Room series.”

Now in its 12th year, The Green Room presents conversations at the intersection of literature, ecology, and imagination. Ó Tuama’s appearances are made possible through the generous support of Nancy & Larry Mohr, Halekulani, and the Conservancy’s Green Room Patrons & Hosts.