Poetry
While developing my gifts as a visual artist, I found comfort in the pages of my journal. Often writing before I learned to express myself in words. Poetry gave me a voice when I felt like I could never find the right words to say. My poetry gave me a sense of courage and boldness, I never knew I was capable of. Turns out, my words resonated with others too.
After some time, that courage really began to set in, and I started to share my poetry. What was once just a tool for me to express myself became a bridge connecting me to so many others.
On January 19, 2015, Brandan "BMike" Odums would bring together thousands of people in a celebration of creativity and community. We communed on Martin Luther King, Jr.'s Day for the Exhibit BE Closing Ceremony. If you are unfamiliar, Exhibit BE was an immersive, anthropological experience birthed in the bones of the DeGaulle Manor of Algiers, Louisiana.
Weeks before the closing ceremony, this living, breathing gallery brought together 40+ artists from all over, including me. I was just a 15 year old girl, so captivated by the space that I would return almost every weekend just to see it take new shape. One day while visiting with my older brother, I whispered dreams about how I would love to be apart of something like this. Like older brothers do, he marched right up to BMike and said, "so what would someone have to do to be a part of this?" and then looked at me with a cheeky smile, as if to say "here's your que". Next thing you know, BMike is showing me to my room in the complex and introducing me to the other artists nearby. It was that day, I realized the power behind the scripture, "you have not because you ask not". It was on those walls I painted my poem "The End of Silence", a form of both purge and promise. I will forever be in awe of that 15 year old girl, and grateful to ExhibitBE and BMike.
In 2016, I decided to compile several of my poems into my first collection of poetry "The End of Silence". Named after that one very special poem, the one that started it all.
photo courtesy of the Artblog, Exhibit BE article
Listen to "The End of Silence" Live
Stay tuned for my second book "Welcome Back 2 Self" coming Spring 2026