Nature of Mind and Mind of Nature: A Conversation with Mongolian Poet Mend-Ooyo Gombojav

Name: Nature of Mind and Mind of Nature: A Conversation with Mongolian Poet Mend-Ooyo Gombojav
Start: 2026-02-22T17:00:00-08:00
Location: The Alembic

Schedule

Sun, 22 Feb, 2026 at 05:00 pm

UTC-08:00

Location

The Alembic | Berkeley, CA

Join us for an intimate evening with Mend-Ooyo Gombojav, Mongolia’s leading literary figure and naturalist. Mend-Ooyo is one of Mongolia’s most revered poets, the nation’s Poet Laureate, and a recipient of the Chinggis Khaan National Prize, Mongolia’s highest cultural honor.
This gathering centers a live reading with Mend-Ooyo, followed by conversation and audience Q&A. Deeply committed to keeping the nomadic spirit alive amid rapid modernization, his work is shaped by a deep relationship with land and informed by Buddhist contemplative traditions.
The evening will also feature a musical performance, meditation, and calligraphy—along with other tactile forms of creative expression—offering direct engagement with Mongolia’s living traditions.
In Mongolia, both culture and creative expression are shaped by deep relationality—with land, ancestry, seasonality, and the living forces of the natural world. Mend-Ooyo’s work emerges from this lineage, where poetry is not separate from landscape, but a dialogue with it—revealing the intimacy between nature and mind.

TEACHER BIO
Mend-Ooyo Gombojav is one of Mongolia’s most revered contemporary poets, essayists, and cultural stewards. Deeply rooted in the landscapes, cosmology, and nomadic traditions of Mongolia, his work bridges ancient shamanic and Buddhist worldviews with modern literary expression. His poetry is celebrated for its lyrical intimacy with the natural world, exploring themes of land, ancestry, impermanence, and the subtle relationship between human consciousness and the living earth.
In recognition of his profound contributions to Mongolian culture and literature, Mend-Ooyo was awarded the Order of Chinggis Khaan, Mongolia’s highest state honor. He has also been named Poet Laureate of the World Congress of Poets, receiving the Golden Crown — one of the most prestigious international honors in poetry. Beyond his writing, he has played a vital role in Mongolia’s cultural life as a publisher, editor, and advocate for artistic renewal, helping bring Mongolian literature into global conversation while safeguarding its ancestral roots.