Bookable Space with W.C. Aldridge
01/18/24 • 27 min
In this engaging episode, poet W.C. Aldridge joins host Yvonne Battle-Felton. W.C. reads from My Soul's Journey, discusses her poetry journey and offers poets/writers advice on creating a poetry collection.
About the book:
My Soul’s Journey, collected poems, by Chicago poet W.C. Aldridge, was released in 2021 as part of Amador Publisher’s Worldwind Books Poetry Series. Ms. Aldridge was involved in all aspects of the project. Her choices for cover and interior art, and her thoughtful arrangement of the poems into chapters with evocative titles such as “Forgiveness is Not a Byword,” “My Relationship with God,” and “Everything is About Color,” add layers of meaning to her poetic journey. The collection is sprinkled with photographs by Michele Lee, also of Chicago, and includes an image by beloved African American painter Annie Lee, “5th Grade Substitute,” a detail of which graces the cover. My Soul’s Journey came together in 2020-21 in the midst of the Black Lives Matter movement and the worldwide pandemic. The dejected young teacher on the book cover may well represent how we were feeling then, and might still be feeling, but paired with Ms. Aldridge’s poetry, she is a symbol of perseverance and hope fortified by faith—an apt description of the poet herself.
Ms. Aldridge describes her work as cathartic. In free verse and narrative prose poems she allows herself release through celebration of her Christian faith. With her soul lighting the way, she embarks on a journey both unique and universal, reflecting on family, culture, hurt and healing. Her willingness to broach truths more often left unsaid, from deep cultural anguish to ecstatic spiritual grace, establish her as a significant voice in the story of Black life in America. In expressing the ubiquitous bond her soul has on her life experiences, the author revels in a journey that ultimately transcends time, and thus painful history, to arrive at a Now each one of us has the power to imbue with promise.
About the writer:
W. C. Aldridge began her writing career in education. Since branching out within other fields, she has written for magazines, created materials for book publishers, ghostwritten life stories, written a column, and published a poetry book called My Soul’s Journey. My Soul’s Journey received the 2022 Eric Hoffer Finalist Award.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
In this engaging episode, poet W.C. Aldridge joins host Yvonne Battle-Felton. W.C. reads from My Soul's Journey, discusses her poetry journey and offers poets/writers advice on creating a poetry collection.
About the book:
My Soul’s Journey, collected poems, by Chicago poet W.C. Aldridge, was released in 2021 as part of Amador Publisher’s Worldwind Books Poetry Series. Ms. Aldridge was involved in all aspects of the project. Her choices for cover and interior art, and her thoughtful arrangement of the poems into chapters with evocative titles such as “Forgiveness is Not a Byword,” “My Relationship with God,” and “Everything is About Color,” add layers of meaning to her poetic journey. The collection is sprinkled with photographs by Michele Lee, also of Chicago, and includes an image by beloved African American painter Annie Lee, “5th Grade Substitute,” a detail of which graces the cover. My Soul’s Journey came together in 2020-21 in the midst of the Black Lives Matter movement and the worldwide pandemic. The dejected young teacher on the book cover may well represent how we were feeling then, and might still be feeling, but paired with Ms. Aldridge’s poetry, she is a symbol of perseverance and hope fortified by faith—an apt description of the poet herself.
Ms. Aldridge describes her work as cathartic. In free verse and narrative prose poems she allows herself release through celebration of her Christian faith. With her soul lighting the way, she embarks on a journey both unique and universal, reflecting on family, culture, hurt and healing. Her willingness to broach truths more often left unsaid, from deep cultural anguish to ecstatic spiritual grace, establish her as a significant voice in the story of Black life in America. In expressing the ubiquitous bond her soul has on her life experiences, the author revels in a journey that ultimately transcends time, and thus painful history, to arrive at a Now each one of us has the power to imbue with promise.
About the writer:
W. C. Aldridge began her writing career in education. Since branching out within other fields, she has written for magazines, created materials for book publishers, ghostwritten life stories, written a column, and published a poetry book called My Soul’s Journey. My Soul’s Journey received the 2022 Eric Hoffer Finalist Award.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Previous Episode
Bookable Space with Claire Culliford
In this episode, host Yvonne Battle-Felton is joined by Claire Culliford. Claire reads from If You Believe... and talks about writing the collection and hope.
About the book
A collection of short stories about the poignant, possible and positive in our world. If You Believe... invites readers to imagine all that can be through tales depicting the best of humanity and the wonderful powers of the natural world.
About the author
Claire Culliford is an author, screenwriter, poet and lyricist who adores writing about the themes that matter to us all, from love and compassion to the natural world, equality and justice. For over twenty years she has also been a teacher and translator.
Claire is the author of the environmental and social children's book series "The Little Helpers", written to support the United Nations' Sustainable Development Goals. It raises awareness among young children of global environmental and social issues and inspires them to come up with creative ways of resolving them. Her latest works, the poetry book "A New World" and the short story collection "If You Believe...", were recently published and aim to provide teenage and adult readers with hope, comfort and belief in all that is possible in our beautiful world.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Next Episode
Bookable Space with Larry Zuckerman
In this special edition of Bookable Space, host Yvonne Battle-Felton is joined by Larry Zuckerman. Larry reads from Lonely Are the Brave.
About the book
Historical novelist Larry Zuckerman talks about Lonely Are the Brave, in which an American war hero returns to his small town in 1919, grieving his late wife, and decides to stay home to raise his infant daughter, only to hear a rumor the child isn’t his.
About the author
Larry Zuckerman, named for a Shakespearean actor, has been blending drama with history since he took up writing at age fifteen. He has written about the potato’s social influence and Belgium during the First World War. Lonely Are the Brave, his debut novel, appeared in April with Cynren Press.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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