Julie Jewels Smoot

The sound of the Chiron Gong carries depth, resonance, spaciousness, and movement. The tones often arrive slowly, linger gently, and fade gradually into silence. Rather than pushing the listener toward stimulation or emotional intensity, the Chiron Gong invites reflection without demand.

“Shut Up and Listen to Survivors” operates less as a protest poem and more as a clinical case statement rendered in voice. Written in 2016 in response to survivors of military sexual trauma (MST) being heard but not meaningfully responded to during U.S. Senate proceedings, the poem articulates a familiar trauma dynamic: testimony offered in good faith, followed by institutional non-response.