November 24, 2024 • 37 mins
Check out Amanda's conversation with Ralonda Simmons!
Ralonda Simmons is a speaker, published author, educator, and singer born in California but residing in the Denver metro area. She received her BA from Metropolitan State University of Denver, and her MS from Boise State University. She’s also a proud graduate of two seasons of the Community Literature Initiative out of Los Angeles. As an artist and wanderer, her mission is to be an example of authentic expression and hard-won wisdom in the face of the status quo. Ralonda’s first full-length publication, Whispers & Conversations, was published in June of 2024 by World Stage Press.
Ralonda's Links:@ralondathepoet
CHECK OUT AMANDA'S NEW TV SHOW: The Poet Speaks with Amanda Eke! Now airing on the Archaeology Channel and Roku!
SUBSCRIBE AND STREAM HERE:
https://heritagetac.org/programs/the-poet-speaks-with-amanda-eke-i28z2vn9bsc?category_id=65263
Be sure to check out The Poet Speaks Podcast on Instagram:
https://www.instagram.com/thepoetspeakspodcast/
And listen to,The Poet Speaks Podcast, on the go on ALL STREAMING PLATFORMS WORLDWIDE!
Apple:https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast...
Spotify:https://open.spotify.com/show/1cM1rdF...
Did you know The Poet Speaks is also Amanda's touring global workshop? She teaches people all about how to make, create and the history of Spoken Word and Indigenous oral traditions! To make a booking for The Poet Speaks Workshop with your organization, apply for mentorships with Amanda, book interviews, as well as writing consultations, please use this link: https://www.amandaeke.com/services
Music by: Buzu Buzu
https://www.instagram.com/bbuzu/
Ralonda Simmons is a speaker, published author, educator, and singer born in California but residing in the Denver metro area. She received her BA from Metropolitan State University of Denver, and her MS from Boise State University. She’s also a proud graduate of two seasons of the Community Literature Initiative out of Los Angeles. As an artist and wanderer, her mission is to be an example of authentic expression and hard-won wisdom in the face of the status quo. Ralonda’s first full-length publication, Whispers & Conversations, was published in June of 2024 by World Stage Press.
Ralonda's Links:@ralondathepoet
CHECK OUT AMANDA'S NEW TV SHOW: The Poet Speaks with Amanda Eke! Now airing on the Archaeology Channel and Roku!
SUBSCRIBE AND STREAM HERE:
https://heritagetac.org/programs/the-poet-speaks-with-amanda-eke-i28z2vn9bsc?category_id=65263
Be sure to check out The Poet Speaks Podcast on Instagram:
https://www.instagram.com/thepoetspeakspodcast/
And listen to,The Poet Speaks Podcast, on the go on ALL STREAMING PLATFORMS WORLDWIDE!
Apple:https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast...
Spotify:https://open.spotify.com/show/1cM1rdF...
Did you know The Poet Speaks is also Amanda's touring global workshop? She teaches people all about how to make, create and the history of Spoken Word and Indigenous oral traditions! To make a booking for The Poet Speaks Workshop with your organization, apply for mentorships with Amanda, book interviews, as well as writing consultations, please use this link: https://www.amandaeke.com/services
Music by: Buzu Buzu
https://www.instagram.com/bbuzu/
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:04):
Hello everyone, it's your host, Amanda Eka and I have
some amazing news. Starting this fall, The pote Speaks is
coming to your TV screens. Yes, that's right. After eight
amazing seasons as a podcast, The pote Speaks with Amanda
Aca is now a TV show erin are the Archaeology
Channel's new streaming service, Heritage. Everyone, get ready for a
(00:25):
visual feast of spoken more performances and deep dives into
the minds of podes from all over the world. Something
extraordinary is coming and you won't want to miss a
single moment. Stay tuned. Our next guest is a speaker, published, author, educator,
and singer born in California but residing in the Denver
metro area. As an artist and wanderer, her mission is
(00:46):
to be an example of authentic expression and hard won
wisdom in the face of the status quo. Her first
full length publication, Whispers and Conversations, was published in June
of twenty twenty four by World Stage Press. Well, welcome
to the Post Speaks podcast, Landa Simmons Orlanda, how are you.
Speaker 2 (01:05):
I'm great, Thank you for that lovely introduction.
Speaker 1 (01:08):
Absolutely absolutely well. You're a very lovely person with a
lot of lovely accomplishments and backgrounds. So we're so excited
to hear you and talk to you today. Well, first
and foremost, tell us where are you speaking to us
out of today?
Speaker 3 (01:21):
What states? Where are you aut in the world right now? Well, yeah,
I'm out here in Aurora, Colorado. It's lovely sunny. I
could see the mountains from my front porch and just
a beautiful day.
Speaker 1 (01:34):
Ooh, that sounds nice. That sounds nice, much nicer than
this New York weather. So I uh, that sounds like
a good one. Some nice, lovely mountain views and ranges.
You just find yourself every morning you just walk outside
and just breathing that Colorado air.
Speaker 4 (01:52):
Usually, yeah, sometimes it gets a little smoggy, but when
it's not smoggy, it's it's the best, for sure.
Speaker 1 (01:58):
Ah, not smoggy, it's the best, for sure for sure.
Well tell us where was your born and raised? Did
you grow up in Colorado? Where were you? Where were
you raised?
Speaker 4 (02:07):
No? I actually was raised in a lot of different places,
and I have poetry about kind of the battle of
trying to figure out where I'm from. I was born
in Orange, California, but I spent a lot of time
in Louisville, Mississippi, Goose Creek, South Carolina, Colorado, but I've
been here the longest, so I'm yeah, I'm from all
(02:28):
of those places in different ways, but I've been here
for a while.
Speaker 1 (02:33):
Nice, nice, Nice tell us. So where where when did
poetry then find you? Was it in the childhood that
you went to and grew up in a multitude of
different places, or is it when you set foot in Colorado?
Tell us? Where did the poetry find you?
Speaker 2 (02:49):
Why? I started writing the way.
Speaker 4 (02:51):
I just kind of like threw myself into it when
I was around thirteen or fourteen, so that wonderful year
going from eighth grade to ninth grade, and then it
really picked up in the tenth grade, so it's I've
been writing a while. I found it based on kind
(03:15):
of it was kind of like a way to have
Catharsis and without leveraging the spaces I had at the time,
which weren't necessarily always safe for that. So I always
know at the end of the day I can pick
up a pen and some jot down what I'm thinking
on a paper, and that's when that really started.
Speaker 1 (03:37):
For sure, for sure. What did you like? You said?
The magical time from eighth grade to ninth grade. What
did you find yourself writing about then? Oh, you know,
like some anngst. You know, teenage poetry can be pretty angsty.
That's why it's up in the closet, not in the book,
and not on any stage. Crushes of course, something my
(04:00):
mom didn't allow me to do and I really wanted
to do it.
Speaker 2 (04:05):
Just just all kinds of things like that.
Speaker 1 (04:08):
Yeah, yeah, for sure, for sure. Yeah, that that's such
a common thing too. I think the angst of teenagehood
and the angst of just you know, I think that's
such a it's a difficult time because you're going through
so many changes during that time. Like when you're a teenager,
you're fighting so hardly for your identity. But a guy
will say, you're either cursed or blessed with a good
(04:31):
family and a good whatever is a support system. You know,
a lot of teens they don't really get that. So,
you know, I think it's dope that you know, you
found that the outlet of writing, and you know, the
hope is always more teens, more youth find outlets that
are healthy such as poetry.
Speaker 4 (04:46):
Absolutely absolutely, and really I started by reading. They say
a lot of writers. You can tell a writer as
a child because they read a lot.
Speaker 2 (04:56):
Not always, but a lot of us read a lot.
Speaker 4 (04:59):
I was always is in somebody's library, no matter what
city I was in.
Speaker 2 (05:04):
And yeah, that's kind of how that happened.
Speaker 4 (05:06):
And then you said something really that made me think too, like, yeah,
you're going through the angst and transition, but all the
teenagers are going through that at the.
Speaker 2 (05:15):
Same time also, which kind of heightens it as well.
Speaker 1 (05:19):
Yeah, yeah, a lot of Yeah. No, I think it's
such a difficult age, honestly, and I think more kind
of more grace should be given, more of some reverence
to the kids.
Speaker 4 (05:30):
They'll just always be looking at them like they have
like they're a problem, Like why not ask what's going on?
Speaker 2 (05:37):
You know?
Speaker 1 (05:40):
Absolutely absolutely so tell us a bit about I love
the quote in your bio you say, as an artist
and wanderer, your mission is to be an example of
authentic expression and hard won wisdom in the face of
the status quo. Now those are fighting words. I like
it a lot. Tell me what does what does that
(06:01):
mean though to you? And what makes someone put something
like that in their bio? So, what does that kind
of how does that encompass your.
Speaker 4 (06:08):
DNA, well, definitely can I can't expound upon it. So
I want to start with the status quo. We live
in a world, in a society that kind of encourages
positivity at all costs, So as far as me with
my hard won wisdom, learning through all of this stuff
(06:29):
and being willing to share what it is I've learned
in my poetry and otherwise, even though we are in
so we live in a place where people don't always
have the most patience or what a person's really thinking
and what they're really feeling. They just want you to say, oh,
I'm fine, depending on what they ask you, like how
(06:54):
are you doing today? Oh, I'm fine, even though the
person is not fine.
Speaker 2 (06:58):
So I kind of.
Speaker 4 (07:01):
I kind of apply that as a philosophy of my life,
like I want to be authentic to what I'm feeling,
to what I'm noticing in myself, and to also share
that and be an example as a way to give
others permission to do the same thing, because so a
lot of times you don't know something's possible until you
see someone else do it or you or even to
(07:21):
go further, you don't give yourself permission until you see
somebody else do it now. Of course we want it
to be as healthy as possible, but there I want
to be an example of people who are able to,
you know, come out of that shell and admit the
truth to themselves and then make art out of it.
Speaker 2 (07:42):
Really, that's what I'm trying to do with my stuff,
for sure.
Speaker 1 (07:46):
For sure. So you say I love this as an artist,
but the.
Speaker 5 (07:49):
Part that strikes me wanderer.
Speaker 1 (07:52):
Well, why do you call yourself a wanderer?
Speaker 4 (07:55):
Well, I don't know if you're into astrology, but I
have heavy set Sagittarius placements. I have a Sagittarius rising
and a Sagittarius mood, so I find mind baited. My
best lessons are from going around the world and coming back.
I've studied abroad in Ghana during undergrad I've taken a
(08:19):
so ten days solo trip to Thailand, seven day solo
trip to Costa Rica. Can't wait to do it again.
I want to go to South Africa. I want to
go to Belize. I want to go I want to
go anywhere that'll have me to be honest with you.
So that's that's kind of what I meant like, if
I could figure out a way to make a business
(08:41):
out of wandering and telling people about it.
Speaker 1 (08:44):
Yeah, yeah, you're a fellow sag sister in Christ, because
me too, I'm a sage and not I mean that
what I mean, Yeah, like I've traveled solo all over
the world. I feel the same way. If I could,
I mean, if they could pay me.
Speaker 4 (09:02):
Hello, come on, manifestation, if you hear me, if you're listening, Okay.
Speaker 1 (09:09):
They could just say me, I'll be gone yesterday, last month.
I mean, no, for real. I know, I love the idea,
and I think I wonder, especially as as a poet,
right as an artist, the idea.
Speaker 5 (09:24):
Of solo travel to me, I completely agree with you.
Speaker 1 (09:27):
I gain so much from leaving my space and then
coming back to my space or coming back into my
space because it's a new form, a new season of myself,
when I kind of get to plant myself in different
different situations, different environments, and then always coming back to myself.
I completely agree with you. Tell me a bit how
(09:48):
that affects though your poetry and you're writing having that
kind of you know, those displacements of being a wanderer,
but then I was returning. How does that affect how
you write? Your poetry.
Speaker 2 (09:59):
Then that's a good question.
Speaker 4 (10:05):
First off, one of the reasons I really love to
travel to other places is to hear other people's perspectives
and learn about their culture so that I can put
my own into context, right like listening to people talk,
the cadence of their voices, seeing what they wear, the
smells of the food wherever I am, whatever the sky
(10:26):
looks like, what their monuments look like, etcetera, etcetera. Experience
all of that, and then get home and write something.
Sometimes it doesn't wait because I have this thing where
I get bothered by something, not necessarily aggravated, but something
will set off in my mind and it'll just keep going,
(10:47):
like rolling a marble in a hand, and it doesn't
stop until I have to write it out.
Speaker 2 (10:55):
And a lot of the times when i'm traveling.
Speaker 4 (10:58):
Or learning something new, I'm gaining material that's kind of
put in there subconsciously, and then it'll come out mm
hm for sure.
Speaker 1 (11:08):
For sure. Yeah. Well, now tell me what when did
you kind of discover this about yourself? At what stage?
At what stage, especially in your poetry writing career, what
stage did you discover this was kind of your your thing,
This was like you said that marble rolling and coming out.
When did you discover this? Was you?
Speaker 2 (11:30):
Strangely enough this year? Well, I've always done these things.
Speaker 4 (11:35):
It's it's so funny how you just go about life
being yourself and doing things intuitively and not necessarily knowing
what you're doing, and then you have a time where
you have you have to sit and think, and then
it comes out like this makes complete sense.
Speaker 2 (11:50):
Because I was built this way, but I just.
Speaker 4 (11:53):
Didn't have words for it or know that that's necessarily
what I was doing.
Speaker 1 (11:59):
Yeah. Yeah, so it's always been. It's always been there.
You just didn't necessarily maybe have the articulation for it yet,
but it's always always been there. No, that's yeah, I
think that's so common.
Speaker 5 (12:12):
No, I think that's very true of a lot of people.
Speaker 1 (12:14):
It's until you because that goes back into what you're saying,
Until you see someone else doing something, you're not even
sure if you can do it right, you know, so
that idea of representation seeing someone do something, it almost
helps you bring that articulation to life, like, oh, no,
that's actually what I've always wanted to do. I've never
seen it before, It's always been inside of me. No,
(12:35):
I think that's that's absolutely fascinating, absolutely fascinating. Tell me
a bit about that's changing, changing gears here a bit.
Let's talk about your first full length publication, which was
Whispers and Conversations beautiful cover there, which was published this
year June of twenty twenty four. Tell us a bit
(12:55):
about how has this been a long time coming out
of the field to get it out and tell us
what whispers and Conversations that's a very title has some gravity.
To tell us a bit about how this whole piece
came together.
Speaker 2 (13:09):
Absolutely.
Speaker 4 (13:10):
So I went through this program during COVID, which is
called the Community Literature Initiative out of LA that we
did it online. It's like a ten month ten month
program where you have a three hour workshop every week
and then you do a lot of workshopping a lot
of writing for about six months of that program, and
(13:32):
then the rest of it they help you put together
your manuscript and get it in the book form where
you could either get it picked up by a press
or self publish it yourself. So that's pretty much where
this started. I graduated in twenty twenty one and got
signed shortly after that, but it kind of took some
(13:53):
time for it to get published and go through the process.
Speaker 1 (13:57):
So, yes, a long time coming. Absolutely a long time coming.
So tell us a bit about the meaning whispers and conversations.
Tell us a bit about how what that title means
and what people can look for in that piece.
Speaker 4 (14:13):
Yeah, it was originally titled Conversations, but the pres didn't
like it just being called conversations, so I worked on
changing it up, and a fellow writer named Camiko White
with the Press actually helped me to change it to
Whispers and Conversations. The conversations the whispers really is, this
(14:37):
is all whispers that I don't necessarily tell everyone else,
except or at least I did it before I published
a book about it. The conversations is really anything. Nothing
on this earth happens without a conversation. There's a conversation
going on right now. And it's also titled, not titled,
(14:57):
it's tied to the section of the book. It was
a way to put diverse kind of subjects together. So
there's conversations with origins like where I'm from. There's conversations
with family, there's conversations with the intersection of being black
(15:18):
and woman, conversations with the past. Writing is a practice sadness,
et cetera. So it was conversations for the longest, but
now it's whispers and conversations.
Speaker 1 (15:33):
Absolutely tell me a bit about I mean, what is
that such an interesting concept? Just the idea of conversations,
and that's kind of the the impetus of your whole
full length tell us a bit about the importance of
conversations and why that's that? That really was the hidden
point of your of your you know, your peace. What
(15:56):
is it about conversations that make your head make your
wheels turn?
Speaker 4 (16:00):
Basically, the world is called is constructed on conversations, its
constructed on language. This is a world that I've basically
constructed with myself. As you can see, she's looking outward,
but she's also looking inward. And then it kind of
just came to me. It's like, you know, I don't
know if you ever hear like a little whisper, like
(16:22):
it should be this, This is how you should organize
the book.
Speaker 2 (16:27):
This is what you should call it.
Speaker 4 (16:29):
So really all of that because I was struggling for
the longest, like what how should I organize this thing?
Speaker 2 (16:34):
What should I call it?
Speaker 4 (16:36):
Like I have all these poems about all these different things.
Speaker 2 (16:41):
What how can I even pull this together?
Speaker 4 (16:43):
And then something was said, you know, these are all conversations.
Everything in this world is built off of conversations between
two or more people or just with people themselves. So
that's pretty much where convoluted answer of watching.
Speaker 1 (17:02):
No, that's an interesting concept, the idea of conversation, Like
right now, we're having a conversation. You know, daily, I know,
I have conversations with myself twenty four to seven in
the shower, in the car. Oh, you know, after this,
I have a conversation with myself. I'm eating dinner. I mean,
just the twenty four You know. You are correct, we do.
(17:25):
The world is built off of conversations, whether that be
with the self, with people around us. Tell us, what
was what has been a significant conversation in your life
that maybe you even wrote a.
Speaker 5 (17:36):
Poem off of for your first full length.
Speaker 2 (17:41):
That's a good question. I don't even know. Oh, here's one.
Speaker 4 (17:49):
During the pandemic and after George Floyd and the various tragedies,
I had a conversation with myself and it resulted in
me needing to call in black that day, So I
have a poem.
Speaker 2 (18:04):
What's about that?
Speaker 5 (18:05):
Hmmmm?
Speaker 4 (18:06):
Wow?
Speaker 1 (18:07):
Tell us callin black? What does that mean?
Speaker 2 (18:10):
Oh, like, I'm calling in to work.
Speaker 4 (18:12):
I'm not coming because of my despair from all this
crap that's happening in the world, and I cannot with
you and your pds today.
Speaker 6 (18:21):
Sharon, Yeah, fact, yeah, we'd word yeah, yeah, Oh my gosh, yeah,
that was Those were some times for sure.
Speaker 1 (18:32):
Tells what was the what was that conversation like, if
you'd like to share with us, what was that conversation
like that you had we to call in black?
Speaker 4 (18:41):
It was you know, because I'm kind of like hard
on myself, like this isn't this isn't a reason to
call in you know, this is you got to be
stronger than this, even though you're seeing something that the
average normal human being would fall into to spare reasonably.
Speaker 2 (19:02):
But just like that Protestant work ethic and ancestral stuff
over here, like you gotta be strong, you gotta just
show up and put the mask on, versus the person
that needs care that's a human being, like these two
talking and the one that needed to be a human
(19:22):
being one.
Speaker 1 (19:24):
That yeah, definitely the human being one that Now that's
an interesting point to make. Wow, Yeah, I mean, so
the book kind of just explores those types of those
internal dialogues, battles with self, but also the conversations with
those around you.
Speaker 2 (19:41):
Yeah.
Speaker 4 (19:41):
I even have one that I wrote in response to
the Robert E. Lee statue coming down in Charlottesville. So
it was a conversation with the world and conversation with
those people who try to alter history. Now, the reason
why there was a Robert E. Lee statue in the
first place, the reason why people felt the need to
(20:04):
bring out torches, conversation between me and them to basically.
Speaker 2 (20:09):
Say, I know what you're doing. Mm hmmmm, I see
you and uh yeah.
Speaker 1 (20:16):
What what's the response been? So it's pretty pretty recent
that this uh that says came into the world, But
what has the response been so far?
Speaker 2 (20:25):
From what I hear people are digging it, I haven't
heard a lot yet. I haven't.
Speaker 4 (20:31):
I'm not one of those people that's going to be like,
what did you think of my books? What did you
think of my book?
Speaker 1 (20:37):
So I don't know, Yeah, well, how did I would
go ahead?
Speaker 4 (20:41):
I was it was from what the feedback that I've gotten,
it's been pretty good for sure.
Speaker 1 (20:48):
For sure? What is what is your internal I know
you said you you're kind of part on yourself. What
is your internal conversation with yourself been since your debut
has came out?
Speaker 2 (21:00):
Kind of thinking.
Speaker 4 (21:01):
About the next book, and then I also also really
haven't had a lot of time to really think about
it because I'm looking for work, that's one thing, and
I'm also working on my second masters in MFA and
fiction learning. My main focus is to learn how to
(21:21):
write the best romance novel and then just keep doing
it eventually, just like hello, romance novels because I like
reading them and I want to love writing them. So
it's kind of switched a little bit away from poetry
because I was working on this book and then my
second book because I was going through that same program
(21:43):
I was talking about earlier as a THA and as
part of the TA they helped you put together another book.
So yeah, a little burned out. Honestly, just need to
go out and performs. That's really what it is. Go
out and perform, which I happy. I'm sorry saying it
one more time I was gonna say, which I've been
(22:05):
doing that. I've been going out to perform and selling
books hand to hand. It feels really good. Getting in
writing the epitaph or whatever in there like, thanks for
the support.
Speaker 2 (22:15):
It's pretty awesome.
Speaker 4 (22:16):
I sold like three yesterday, so that feels great.
Speaker 1 (22:20):
Life.
Speaker 5 (22:21):
Yeah, I feel I definitely feel you on that.
Speaker 1 (22:23):
It's a yeah, that idea of just I need to
go out and just kind of perform, be with the
people writing, working on the project keeps you like so
like condensed in your own world to where you're just like,
oh my god, I need a leader, like you said,
the wanderer spirit, you need to go wander, to go,
go re rejuvenate yourself, to go to eventually come back
(22:45):
to yourself.
Speaker 5 (22:46):
So I definitely I definitely feel where you're coming from.
Speaker 1 (22:48):
So romance novels, that's fun. I like that, that's fun.
Tell me, are you will that include poetry eventually though?
And I'm sure you already write poems that are you
know whatever, romantic romantic.
Speaker 7 (23:03):
Fanby sometimes always where the romance, where that kind of
spirit comes from to write, to write in that arena,
I just.
Speaker 2 (23:13):
Love when one is done really well. Yeah, And I.
Speaker 4 (23:17):
Don't know if you're familiar, but there's this writer named
Beverly Jenkins who writes African American historical novels and romance novels,
and it's just so tight, like the idea of writing
a complicated heroine having her fine love in the end,
like let me give.
Speaker 2 (23:36):
Myself a little bit of hope over here, you know
what I'm saying.
Speaker 1 (23:39):
Day Yeah, no, yeah, I like my I like some
of I like romance novels. I don't know. I'm a
bit I'm a bit unhinged. So I like the kind
of unhinged with a twist and tinge. So like her,
with the twist and tinge of some to be mixed
in there with a twist.
Speaker 2 (24:00):
The urban urban fiction, urban.
Speaker 5 (24:02):
Fiction mixed with some.
Speaker 1 (24:05):
Mixed with just some just nonsense, mixed with like some
horror too. I don't know. My spirit gravitates towards different things.
Speaker 2 (24:15):
I don't that's fair. There's a there's there's I think
there's a lady.
Speaker 4 (24:21):
There might be several folks on Amazon that write romance
novels with a person and a dinosaur. Okay, now I'm
not I mean, I think you Okay, in terms of
that line, that's a lot.
Speaker 2 (24:36):
Okay, Yeah, I'm not.
Speaker 1 (24:40):
Quite on that, like you know, that type of thing.
But if that's people's thing, that's cool. That's not my
type of thing. Like I still like the human on
human interaction. Yeah, I guess I just like the unhinged.
I do like the urban urban urban romances. Oh no,
I just feel like with the romance, I like when
there's just a wrench in the circle. Did something just
(25:02):
something different than the usual, you know, the usual musual.
I guess is what I'm trying to get at. I
guess I.
Speaker 2 (25:09):
Read this one couple of years ago.
Speaker 4 (25:12):
It was like this lady was married to this man, businessman,
and he was driving up to Chicago and he got
in some storm or he got carjacked or something, and
then he went missing. And then she she's like, oh,
I guess, like went through the whole morning process, ended
up going to a city in the South, and he's there.
(25:36):
He doesn't even know that's her. He can't just plat
out and be like, I am your wife. So the
novel is basically them going through basically them had starting
their relationship over again as him as this other person
because he's an amnesiac, built a whole nother life and her.
(25:59):
So that's a little twistage, a little uh, I'm not
middle of the road for sure.
Speaker 1 (26:05):
That's dope, Okay, I like that. No, that that sounds
very interesting. Okay, yeah, something like that that throws just
a wrench in the whole plot. No, I like that.
I like that a lot, do so. When so it's
interesting to me, you said you didn't even so I
asked you the conversation you had with yourself after you've
released your first full length publication. Now for you, I mean,
(26:28):
it's like, it's always interesting when I talk to artists
they release something. There's never the time to just sit
back and be like, hey, I did that, I did that,
I did that. Just give yourself that grace, like, hey,
you work your booty off. Time gonna just relax, let
me go celebrate, right, It always seems to be we're
onto the next, on to the next. Don't rest on
(26:49):
your laurels. What do you think, my sad sister in Christ,
Why do you think that is? Why do you why
do you think you function like that where you don't
kind of just lean back and say, hey, that was
the first time I ever did that, my first full
length book of pros and poems.
Speaker 4 (27:07):
I think it's fire sign behavior, to be honest with you. Yeah,
I don't know. I did have a release event that
was really cool. That was at the Vintage Theater in Aurora.
Who Press Iiram Sims came out from California and hosted
me and I had some friends who were my feature openers.
(27:28):
My mom got on stage and aie me. But it
was beautiful.
Speaker 2 (27:35):
That was part of the celebration. But you're right, like.
Speaker 4 (27:37):
I've my orientation is to accomplish something and then just
keep it moving. But I do need to build more
intentional celebration spaces in my life because that's not my nature.
You celebrate other people all day. I'm one of those people.
But me like, oh that anybody can do that?
Speaker 1 (27:58):
Not really, No, no people can't. Honestly, a book is
no joke. So no, yeah, I've yeah, I found that
kind of interesting. A lot of poets, artists. It's just
not being able to just, I don't know, like just
congratulate yourself. Just be like, hey I did that. Let
me just go like take myself on a holiday. Go
(28:18):
on a holiday, go do something nice. Take the weekend off.
How about that concept not work, not stop working for
maybe like a week, just take a week off and
just do something that just honor your spirit that you
don't have to worry about progressing in right, it's just
this is just I'm just here still celebrating how great
(28:40):
my great life is and just what I've accomplished. Now
it's kind of like why, why, why is that? Why
do we not just rest sometimes?
Speaker 2 (28:49):
You know, so always the hustle?
Speaker 4 (28:53):
I guess, sound like you, Caane, I feel like the
answer to that question is centuries old.
Speaker 2 (28:59):
Yeah, it's some multi generational something that I don't even know,
but yeah, yeah.
Speaker 1 (29:06):
For sure. Well that sounds amazing though. So you have
the release party in Aurora, I mean that was what
you know, for those that listen to this, you know
a lot of first time writers, maybe they're looking to
get books published. How much part of the game is having,
you think, a release party and being able to really
have your work celebrated in that type of way. Do
(29:28):
you think all of that kind of aspect, having that
kind of opening launch. Do you think that's very important
for someone's publication a chat book, a book.
Speaker 5 (29:40):
How important do you think that aspect of marketing is?
Speaker 1 (29:43):
You know, because I think a lot of people they
write their book, they write the publication for the press,
then the whole I'd say about seventy percent of it
is now that marketing aspect which is not taught in school,
which is not taught really anywhere. You got to learn
in the streets, I will. How important do you think
though that aspect is?
Speaker 4 (30:05):
Naturally I don't, but my press insisted, and I'm glad
they did because I'm like, oh my gosh, what if
nobody shows up?
Speaker 1 (30:14):
Yeah?
Speaker 2 (30:15):
Real, yeah, people did show up.
Speaker 4 (30:17):
I had coworkers come, I had people from a leadership program,
I was income fellow poets. So yeah, I think if
it is in you to put on a launch, do it.
If it's not, find something else, but I would probably
now it was stressful getting it all together, but once
(30:40):
it was done, it.
Speaker 2 (30:41):
Was very rewarding.
Speaker 1 (30:42):
Yeah.
Speaker 5 (30:43):
Yeah, that rewarding aspect for sure, for sure.
Speaker 1 (30:46):
Absolutely, absolutely, No, that's great and I think that's great
for people to hear.
Speaker 5 (30:51):
That is definitely there is importance.
Speaker 1 (30:53):
There is a key, key value in that aspect of
your art, which is you do have to bring it
to the world some way, somehow, you know what I mean.
That's how you get that traction going. So thank you,
thank you so much for sharing that. All right, So
tell me a bit. Was there a moment that you
knew you were a writer? Was there just a moment
(31:15):
in time. I know we talked a bit earlier about
your childhood, have that multitude of places and spaces you've
been in. But was there just a shock value moment
where you were just like, I am a writer.
Speaker 4 (31:29):
No, not really, I'm still well. It's not something I'm
still dealing with because I've been at it.
Speaker 2 (31:36):
For so long.
Speaker 4 (31:37):
But I think one of the major confirmations of it
was choosing to go to college and get a writing
degree and have the power to concentrate on poetry, studying
it and writing in and all of that. I don't
know if I've ever.
Speaker 2 (31:58):
I don't know.
Speaker 4 (31:59):
I don't think if I did, I sincerely can't remember.
As far as like an epiphany, sure.
Speaker 1 (32:05):
Sure, sure was there a stage in your life you think,
I know you said that awkward moment between eighth grade
and ninth grade? Was there ever that kind of stage though,
where you were just this was all clicking together that
you could do this long term to where you could
actually see yourself publishing a book. I mean, was there
(32:27):
a season in your life that just made everything started
making sense with you being a poet and a writer.
Speaker 4 (32:35):
Yeah, in a strange way from trying to run away
from it.
Speaker 1 (32:39):
Oh wow.
Speaker 4 (32:40):
Yeah, like listening to folks ask me with what are
you going to do with that writing degree?
Speaker 2 (32:47):
Are you going to teach?
Speaker 4 (32:49):
Which is nothing wrong with being a teacher, but you
need specific training to do that that I did not have.
And so after I graduated with my writing degree, I
did all I could to get an office job to
basically deny what I was trying to do and what
my vision for what I had for myself. Yeah, but
(33:10):
I noticed as I had a pattern of doing that,
finding jobs and just kind of being miserable because I
wasn't doing my thing, it was kind of like, well,
you might as well just go ahead and do that
thing that you're naturally supposed to be doing, because you
will suffer if you don't. Yeah, essentially, find some kind
(33:31):
of way to add it back. And I always have
my phone on me writing, So yeah, there's still there
have been times in my life where I couldn't write.
Nothing was happening. I call from reading an essay in
undergrad I call that an essential delay. Sometimes you have
to collect materials and synthesize them and then then they
(33:54):
just come out like an overfilled closet when you open
the door. So that's kind of what happened, just trying
to run away from you're I'm supposed to be a writer,
just kind of running away from that and trying to
find more sensible things.
Speaker 1 (34:13):
Yeah, yeah, it really is. It's funny that life you try.
It's like that one movie, what is it, Final Destination.
Your ass is gonna get hit by that truck. Whether
you like it or not. It's gonna come back around
and come and get you. Well you should you should
be driving the truck. Yes, yeah, yeah, absolutely absolutely. Now
(34:38):
it's interesting how our passions they can be, you know,
they're they're stocked down by so many different things, whether
it be family, parents, right, a lot, like you said,
you have people telling me, I mean, what are you
gonna do with that? Right? And then it's somehow it's
you know, but your your purpose and your soul. You
can't get rid of that. You know, you'll be until
you you find that happiness, you'll be unhappy everywhere. Oh no,
(35:00):
I love that. I love that you've at least, you know,
I really even discovered that in yourself, because that, in
itself takes quite a bit, quite a lot for a
lot of people to get there. So that's really what's up?
All right, Belanda, Thank you so much. You've really just
dropped some gems. We had such a great conversation so
far today. Now the last question we ask every poet
on the Post Speaks podcast, why do you need to
(35:23):
get your words out?
Speaker 2 (35:25):
I need to.
Speaker 4 (35:26):
Get my words out as a form of processing. But
then also I know that somebody somewhere needs to hear
whatever it is I've said because they felt the same way,
or they didn't know that the feeling was possible, or
they didn't know that the processing of the feeling was possible.
(35:47):
Nothing I really do is just for me. I need
to probably get better at being a little bit more selfish,
but I don't know when that'll happen, so it's not
just for me.
Speaker 1 (35:58):
All right, all right, she said she needs to get
the words out there, not just for her.
Speaker 2 (36:03):
All right.
Speaker 1 (36:03):
Well, thank you so much, Rwanda, and tell us as
we wrap up final final question, what is next for
you in twenty twenty four? Where can we find all
of your amazing work? So drop any social media links,
website links for folks to pick up your book and
all your good stuff.
Speaker 2 (36:19):
Absolutely well.
Speaker 4 (36:20):
You can find me on Instagram at Rolanda the poet
with two ease you can find. I can put the
chat for my book on world stage, press whispers and
conversations that you can.
Speaker 6 (36:37):
Bye.
Speaker 4 (36:38):
Really those are the I need to be better at
social media too, speaking of marketing, but those are the
two main places.
Speaker 1 (36:48):
For sure, for sure. All right, any big plans for
the rest at twenty twenty four, and now you say
you're performing some places anywhere you want to drop.
Speaker 4 (36:57):
I'm resting and basically figuring myself out, doing training for
facilitation for the Center of Creative Leadership and just really
focusing on setting goals for next year.
Speaker 1 (37:10):
For sure, for sure, all right, and we'll be looking
forward to and of course we are looking forward to
that second piece, that second book, as well as those
romance novels coming soon surely, at least hopefully. We're very excited.
All right, Rolanda, thank you so much and everyone. Landa's
links will be down below in the detailed section, no
matter where you are listening to this podcast. Again, her
(37:31):
links will be down below in the detail section, no
matter where you are listening to this podcast, all right, Rolanda,
thank you so much for being a guest today on
the post Speaks podcast for happening to me. It's great absolutely,
and again everyone check out All Verlanda's amazing work and
check out the Post Speaks podcast. No matter where you
listen to your podcast, why everyone
Hello everyone, it's your host, Amanda Eka and I have
some amazing news. Starting this fall, The pote Speaks is
coming to your TV screens. Yes, that's right. After eight
amazing seasons as a podcast, The pote Speaks with Amanda
Aca is now a TV show erin are the Archaeology
Channel's new streaming service, Heritage. Everyone, get ready for a
(00:25):
visual feast of spoken more performances and deep dives into
the minds of podes from all over the world. Something
extraordinary is coming and you won't want to miss a
single moment. Stay tuned. Our next guest is a speaker, published, author, educator,
and singer born in California but residing in the Denver
metro area. As an artist and wanderer, her mission is
(00:46):
to be an example of authentic expression and hard won
wisdom in the face of the status quo. Her first
full length publication, Whispers and Conversations, was published in June
of twenty twenty four by World Stage Press. Well, welcome
to the Post Speaks podcast, Landa Simmons Orlanda, how are you.
Speaker 2 (01:05):
I'm great, Thank you for that lovely introduction.
Speaker 1 (01:08):
Absolutely absolutely well. You're a very lovely person with a
lot of lovely accomplishments and backgrounds. So we're so excited
to hear you and talk to you today. Well, first
and foremost, tell us where are you speaking to us
out of today?
Speaker 3 (01:21):
What states? Where are you aut in the world right now? Well, yeah,
I'm out here in Aurora, Colorado. It's lovely sunny. I
could see the mountains from my front porch and just
a beautiful day.
Speaker 1 (01:34):
Ooh, that sounds nice. That sounds nice, much nicer than
this New York weather. So I uh, that sounds like
a good one. Some nice, lovely mountain views and ranges.
You just find yourself every morning you just walk outside
and just breathing that Colorado air.
Speaker 4 (01:52):
Usually, yeah, sometimes it gets a little smoggy, but when
it's not smoggy, it's it's the best, for sure.
Speaker 1 (01:58):
Ah, not smoggy, it's the best, for sure for sure.
Well tell us where was your born and raised? Did
you grow up in Colorado? Where were you? Where were
you raised?
Speaker 4 (02:07):
No? I actually was raised in a lot of different places,
and I have poetry about kind of the battle of
trying to figure out where I'm from. I was born
in Orange, California, but I spent a lot of time
in Louisville, Mississippi, Goose Creek, South Carolina, Colorado, but I've
been here the longest, so I'm yeah, I'm from all
(02:28):
of those places in different ways, but I've been here
for a while.
Speaker 1 (02:33):
Nice, nice, Nice tell us. So where where when did
poetry then find you? Was it in the childhood that
you went to and grew up in a multitude of
different places, or is it when you set foot in Colorado?
Tell us? Where did the poetry find you?
Speaker 2 (02:49):
Why? I started writing the way.
Speaker 4 (02:51):
I just kind of like threw myself into it when
I was around thirteen or fourteen, so that wonderful year
going from eighth grade to ninth grade, and then it
really picked up in the tenth grade, so it's I've
been writing a while. I found it based on kind
(03:15):
of it was kind of like a way to have
Catharsis and without leveraging the spaces I had at the time,
which weren't necessarily always safe for that. So I always
know at the end of the day I can pick
up a pen and some jot down what I'm thinking
on a paper, and that's when that really started.
Speaker 1 (03:37):
For sure, for sure. What did you like? You said?
The magical time from eighth grade to ninth grade. What
did you find yourself writing about then? Oh, you know,
like some anngst. You know, teenage poetry can be pretty angsty.
That's why it's up in the closet, not in the book,
and not on any stage. Crushes of course, something my
(04:00):
mom didn't allow me to do and I really wanted
to do it.
Speaker 2 (04:05):
Just just all kinds of things like that.
Speaker 1 (04:08):
Yeah, yeah, for sure, for sure. Yeah, that that's such
a common thing too. I think the angst of teenagehood
and the angst of just you know, I think that's
such a it's a difficult time because you're going through
so many changes during that time. Like when you're a teenager,
you're fighting so hardly for your identity. But a guy
will say, you're either cursed or blessed with a good
(04:31):
family and a good whatever is a support system. You know,
a lot of teens they don't really get that. So,
you know, I think it's dope that you know, you
found that the outlet of writing, and you know, the
hope is always more teens, more youth find outlets that
are healthy such as poetry.
Speaker 4 (04:46):
Absolutely absolutely, and really I started by reading. They say
a lot of writers. You can tell a writer as
a child because they read a lot.
Speaker 2 (04:56):
Not always, but a lot of us read a lot.
Speaker 4 (04:59):
I was always is in somebody's library, no matter what
city I was in.
Speaker 2 (05:04):
And yeah, that's kind of how that happened.
Speaker 4 (05:06):
And then you said something really that made me think too, like, yeah,
you're going through the angst and transition, but all the
teenagers are going through that at the.
Speaker 2 (05:15):
Same time also, which kind of heightens it as well.
Speaker 1 (05:19):
Yeah, yeah, a lot of Yeah. No, I think it's
such a difficult age, honestly, and I think more kind
of more grace should be given, more of some reverence
to the kids.
Speaker 4 (05:30):
They'll just always be looking at them like they have
like they're a problem, Like why not ask what's going on?
Speaker 2 (05:37):
You know?
Speaker 1 (05:40):
Absolutely absolutely so tell us a bit about I love
the quote in your bio you say, as an artist
and wanderer, your mission is to be an example of
authentic expression and hard won wisdom in the face of
the status quo. Now those are fighting words. I like
it a lot. Tell me what does what does that
(06:01):
mean though to you? And what makes someone put something
like that in their bio? So, what does that kind
of how does that encompass your.
Speaker 4 (06:08):
DNA, well, definitely can I can't expound upon it. So
I want to start with the status quo. We live
in a world, in a society that kind of encourages
positivity at all costs, So as far as me with
my hard won wisdom, learning through all of this stuff
(06:29):
and being willing to share what it is I've learned
in my poetry and otherwise, even though we are in
so we live in a place where people don't always
have the most patience or what a person's really thinking
and what they're really feeling. They just want you to say, oh,
I'm fine, depending on what they ask you, like how
(06:54):
are you doing today? Oh, I'm fine, even though the
person is not fine.
Speaker 2 (06:58):
So I kind of.
Speaker 4 (07:01):
I kind of apply that as a philosophy of my life,
like I want to be authentic to what I'm feeling,
to what I'm noticing in myself, and to also share
that and be an example as a way to give
others permission to do the same thing, because so a
lot of times you don't know something's possible until you
see someone else do it or you or even to
(07:21):
go further, you don't give yourself permission until you see
somebody else do it now. Of course we want it
to be as healthy as possible, but there I want
to be an example of people who are able to,
you know, come out of that shell and admit the
truth to themselves and then make art out of it.
Speaker 2 (07:42):
Really, that's what I'm trying to do with my stuff,
for sure.
Speaker 1 (07:46):
For sure. So you say I love this as an artist,
but the.
Speaker 5 (07:49):
Part that strikes me wanderer.
Speaker 1 (07:52):
Well, why do you call yourself a wanderer?
Speaker 4 (07:55):
Well, I don't know if you're into astrology, but I
have heavy set Sagittarius placements. I have a Sagittarius rising
and a Sagittarius mood, so I find mind baited. My
best lessons are from going around the world and coming back.
I've studied abroad in Ghana during undergrad I've taken a
(08:19):
so ten days solo trip to Thailand, seven day solo
trip to Costa Rica. Can't wait to do it again.
I want to go to South Africa. I want to
go to Belize. I want to go I want to
go anywhere that'll have me to be honest with you.
So that's that's kind of what I meant like, if
I could figure out a way to make a business
(08:41):
out of wandering and telling people about it.
Speaker 1 (08:44):
Yeah, yeah, you're a fellow sag sister in Christ, because
me too, I'm a sage and not I mean that
what I mean, Yeah, like I've traveled solo all over
the world. I feel the same way. If I could,
I mean, if they could pay me.
Speaker 4 (09:02):
Hello, come on, manifestation, if you hear me, if you're listening, Okay.
Speaker 1 (09:09):
They could just say me, I'll be gone yesterday, last month.
I mean, no, for real. I know, I love the idea,
and I think I wonder, especially as as a poet,
right as an artist, the idea.
Speaker 5 (09:24):
Of solo travel to me, I completely agree with you.
Speaker 1 (09:27):
I gain so much from leaving my space and then
coming back to my space or coming back into my
space because it's a new form, a new season of myself,
when I kind of get to plant myself in different
different situations, different environments, and then always coming back to myself.
I completely agree with you. Tell me a bit how
(09:48):
that affects though your poetry and you're writing having that
kind of you know, those displacements of being a wanderer,
but then I was returning. How does that affect how
you write? Your poetry.
Speaker 2 (09:59):
Then that's a good question.
Speaker 4 (10:05):
First off, one of the reasons I really love to
travel to other places is to hear other people's perspectives
and learn about their culture so that I can put
my own into context, right like listening to people talk,
the cadence of their voices, seeing what they wear, the
smells of the food wherever I am, whatever the sky
(10:26):
looks like, what their monuments look like, etcetera, etcetera. Experience
all of that, and then get home and write something.
Sometimes it doesn't wait because I have this thing where
I get bothered by something, not necessarily aggravated, but something
will set off in my mind and it'll just keep going,
(10:47):
like rolling a marble in a hand, and it doesn't
stop until I have to write it out.
Speaker 2 (10:55):
And a lot of the times when i'm traveling.
Speaker 4 (10:58):
Or learning something new, I'm gaining material that's kind of
put in there subconsciously, and then it'll come out mm
hm for sure.
Speaker 1 (11:08):
For sure. Yeah. Well, now tell me what when did
you kind of discover this about yourself? At what stage?
At what stage, especially in your poetry writing career, what
stage did you discover this was kind of your your thing,
This was like you said that marble rolling and coming out.
When did you discover this? Was you?
Speaker 2 (11:30):
Strangely enough this year? Well, I've always done these things.
Speaker 4 (11:35):
It's it's so funny how you just go about life
being yourself and doing things intuitively and not necessarily knowing
what you're doing, and then you have a time where
you have you have to sit and think, and then
it comes out like this makes complete sense.
Speaker 2 (11:50):
Because I was built this way, but I just.
Speaker 4 (11:53):
Didn't have words for it or know that that's necessarily
what I was doing.
Speaker 1 (11:59):
Yeah. Yeah, so it's always been. It's always been there.
You just didn't necessarily maybe have the articulation for it yet,
but it's always always been there. No, that's yeah, I
think that's so common.
Speaker 5 (12:12):
No, I think that's very true of a lot of people.
Speaker 1 (12:14):
It's until you because that goes back into what you're saying,
Until you see someone else doing something, you're not even
sure if you can do it right, you know, so
that idea of representation seeing someone do something, it almost
helps you bring that articulation to life, like, oh, no,
that's actually what I've always wanted to do. I've never
seen it before, It's always been inside of me. No,
(12:35):
I think that's that's absolutely fascinating, absolutely fascinating. Tell me
a bit about that's changing, changing gears here a bit.
Let's talk about your first full length publication, which was
Whispers and Conversations beautiful cover there, which was published this
year June of twenty twenty four. Tell us a bit
(12:55):
about how has this been a long time coming out
of the field to get it out and tell us
what whispers and Conversations that's a very title has some gravity.
To tell us a bit about how this whole piece
came together.
Speaker 2 (13:09):
Absolutely.
Speaker 4 (13:10):
So I went through this program during COVID, which is
called the Community Literature Initiative out of LA that we
did it online. It's like a ten month ten month
program where you have a three hour workshop every week
and then you do a lot of workshopping a lot
of writing for about six months of that program, and
(13:32):
then the rest of it they help you put together
your manuscript and get it in the book form where
you could either get it picked up by a press
or self publish it yourself. So that's pretty much where
this started. I graduated in twenty twenty one and got
signed shortly after that, but it kind of took some
(13:53):
time for it to get published and go through the process.
Speaker 1 (13:57):
So, yes, a long time coming. Absolutely a long time coming.
So tell us a bit about the meaning whispers and conversations.
Tell us a bit about how what that title means
and what people can look for in that piece.
Speaker 4 (14:13):
Yeah, it was originally titled Conversations, but the pres didn't
like it just being called conversations, so I worked on
changing it up, and a fellow writer named Camiko White
with the Press actually helped me to change it to
Whispers and Conversations. The conversations the whispers really is, this
(14:37):
is all whispers that I don't necessarily tell everyone else,
except or at least I did it before I published
a book about it. The conversations is really anything. Nothing
on this earth happens without a conversation. There's a conversation
going on right now. And it's also titled, not titled,
(14:57):
it's tied to the section of the book. It was
a way to put diverse kind of subjects together. So
there's conversations with origins like where I'm from. There's conversations
with family, there's conversations with the intersection of being black
(15:18):
and woman, conversations with the past. Writing is a practice sadness,
et cetera. So it was conversations for the longest, but
now it's whispers and conversations.
Speaker 1 (15:33):
Absolutely tell me a bit about I mean, what is
that such an interesting concept? Just the idea of conversations,
and that's kind of the the impetus of your whole
full length tell us a bit about the importance of
conversations and why that's that? That really was the hidden
point of your of your you know, your peace. What
(15:56):
is it about conversations that make your head make your
wheels turn?
Speaker 4 (16:00):
Basically, the world is called is constructed on conversations, its
constructed on language. This is a world that I've basically
constructed with myself. As you can see, she's looking outward,
but she's also looking inward. And then it kind of
just came to me. It's like, you know, I don't
know if you ever hear like a little whisper, like
(16:22):
it should be this, This is how you should organize
the book.
Speaker 2 (16:27):
This is what you should call it.
Speaker 4 (16:29):
So really all of that because I was struggling for
the longest, like what how should I organize this thing?
Speaker 2 (16:34):
What should I call it?
Speaker 4 (16:36):
Like I have all these poems about all these different things.
Speaker 2 (16:41):
What how can I even pull this together?
Speaker 4 (16:43):
And then something was said, you know, these are all conversations.
Everything in this world is built off of conversations between
two or more people or just with people themselves. So
that's pretty much where convoluted answer of watching.
Speaker 1 (17:02):
No, that's an interesting concept, the idea of conversation, Like
right now, we're having a conversation. You know, daily, I know,
I have conversations with myself twenty four to seven in
the shower, in the car. Oh, you know, after this,
I have a conversation with myself. I'm eating dinner. I mean,
just the twenty four You know. You are correct, we do.
(17:25):
The world is built off of conversations, whether that be
with the self, with people around us. Tell us, what
was what has been a significant conversation in your life
that maybe you even wrote a.
Speaker 5 (17:36):
Poem off of for your first full length.
Speaker 2 (17:41):
That's a good question. I don't even know. Oh, here's one.
Speaker 4 (17:49):
During the pandemic and after George Floyd and the various tragedies,
I had a conversation with myself and it resulted in
me needing to call in black that day, So I
have a poem.
Speaker 2 (18:04):
What's about that?
Speaker 5 (18:05):
Hmmmm?
Speaker 4 (18:06):
Wow?
Speaker 1 (18:07):
Tell us callin black? What does that mean?
Speaker 2 (18:10):
Oh, like, I'm calling in to work.
Speaker 4 (18:12):
I'm not coming because of my despair from all this
crap that's happening in the world, and I cannot with
you and your pds today.
Speaker 6 (18:21):
Sharon, Yeah, fact, yeah, we'd word yeah, yeah, Oh my gosh, yeah,
that was Those were some times for sure.
Speaker 1 (18:32):
Tells what was the what was that conversation like, if
you'd like to share with us, what was that conversation
like that you had we to call in black?
Speaker 4 (18:41):
It was you know, because I'm kind of like hard
on myself, like this isn't this isn't a reason to
call in you know, this is you got to be
stronger than this, even though you're seeing something that the
average normal human being would fall into to spare reasonably.
Speaker 2 (19:02):
But just like that Protestant work ethic and ancestral stuff
over here, like you gotta be strong, you gotta just
show up and put the mask on, versus the person
that needs care that's a human being, like these two
talking and the one that needed to be a human
(19:22):
being one.
Speaker 1 (19:24):
That yeah, definitely the human being one that Now that's
an interesting point to make. Wow, Yeah, I mean, so
the book kind of just explores those types of those
internal dialogues, battles with self, but also the conversations with
those around you.
Speaker 2 (19:41):
Yeah.
Speaker 4 (19:41):
I even have one that I wrote in response to
the Robert E. Lee statue coming down in Charlottesville. So
it was a conversation with the world and conversation with
those people who try to alter history. Now, the reason
why there was a Robert E. Lee statue in the
first place, the reason why people felt the need to
(20:04):
bring out torches, conversation between me and them to basically.
Speaker 2 (20:09):
Say, I know what you're doing. Mm hmmmm, I see
you and uh yeah.
Speaker 1 (20:16):
What what's the response been? So it's pretty pretty recent
that this uh that says came into the world, But
what has the response been so far?
Speaker 2 (20:25):
From what I hear people are digging it, I haven't
heard a lot yet. I haven't.
Speaker 4 (20:31):
I'm not one of those people that's going to be like,
what did you think of my books? What did you
think of my book?
Speaker 1 (20:37):
So I don't know, Yeah, well, how did I would
go ahead?
Speaker 4 (20:41):
I was it was from what the feedback that I've gotten,
it's been pretty good for sure.
Speaker 1 (20:48):
For sure? What is what is your internal I know
you said you you're kind of part on yourself. What
is your internal conversation with yourself been since your debut
has came out?
Speaker 2 (21:00):
Kind of thinking.
Speaker 4 (21:01):
About the next book, and then I also also really
haven't had a lot of time to really think about
it because I'm looking for work, that's one thing, and
I'm also working on my second masters in MFA and
fiction learning. My main focus is to learn how to
(21:21):
write the best romance novel and then just keep doing
it eventually, just like hello, romance novels because I like
reading them and I want to love writing them. So
it's kind of switched a little bit away from poetry
because I was working on this book and then my
second book because I was going through that same program
(21:43):
I was talking about earlier as a THA and as
part of the TA they helped you put together another book.
So yeah, a little burned out. Honestly, just need to
go out and performs. That's really what it is. Go
out and perform, which I happy. I'm sorry saying it
one more time I was gonna say, which I've been
(22:05):
doing that. I've been going out to perform and selling
books hand to hand. It feels really good. Getting in
writing the epitaph or whatever in there like, thanks for
the support.
Speaker 2 (22:15):
It's pretty awesome.
Speaker 4 (22:16):
I sold like three yesterday, so that feels great.
Speaker 1 (22:20):
Life.
Speaker 5 (22:21):
Yeah, I feel I definitely feel you on that.
Speaker 1 (22:23):
It's a yeah, that idea of just I need to
go out and just kind of perform, be with the
people writing, working on the project keeps you like so
like condensed in your own world to where you're just like,
oh my god, I need a leader, like you said,
the wanderer spirit, you need to go wander, to go,
go re rejuvenate yourself, to go to eventually come back
(22:45):
to yourself.
Speaker 5 (22:46):
So I definitely I definitely feel where you're coming from.
Speaker 1 (22:48):
So romance novels, that's fun. I like that, that's fun.
Tell me, are you will that include poetry eventually though?
And I'm sure you already write poems that are you
know whatever, romantic romantic.
Speaker 7 (23:03):
Fanby sometimes always where the romance, where that kind of
spirit comes from to write, to write in that arena,
I just.
Speaker 2 (23:13):
Love when one is done really well. Yeah, And I.
Speaker 4 (23:17):
Don't know if you're familiar, but there's this writer named
Beverly Jenkins who writes African American historical novels and romance novels,
and it's just so tight, like the idea of writing
a complicated heroine having her fine love in the end,
like let me give.
Speaker 2 (23:36):
Myself a little bit of hope over here, you know
what I'm saying.
Speaker 1 (23:39):
Day Yeah, no, yeah, I like my I like some
of I like romance novels. I don't know. I'm a
bit I'm a bit unhinged. So I like the kind
of unhinged with a twist and tinge. So like her,
with the twist and tinge of some to be mixed
in there with a twist.
Speaker 2 (24:00):
The urban urban fiction, urban.
Speaker 5 (24:02):
Fiction mixed with some.
Speaker 1 (24:05):
Mixed with just some just nonsense, mixed with like some
horror too. I don't know. My spirit gravitates towards different things.
Speaker 2 (24:15):
I don't that's fair. There's a there's there's I think
there's a lady.
Speaker 4 (24:21):
There might be several folks on Amazon that write romance
novels with a person and a dinosaur. Okay, now I'm
not I mean, I think you Okay, in terms of
that line, that's a lot.
Speaker 2 (24:36):
Okay, Yeah, I'm not.
Speaker 1 (24:40):
Quite on that, like you know, that type of thing.
But if that's people's thing, that's cool. That's not my
type of thing. Like I still like the human on
human interaction. Yeah, I guess I just like the unhinged.
I do like the urban urban urban romances. Oh no,
I just feel like with the romance, I like when
there's just a wrench in the circle. Did something just
(25:02):
something different than the usual, you know, the usual musual.
I guess is what I'm trying to get at. I
guess I.
Speaker 2 (25:09):
Read this one couple of years ago.
Speaker 4 (25:12):
It was like this lady was married to this man, businessman,
and he was driving up to Chicago and he got
in some storm or he got carjacked or something, and
then he went missing. And then she she's like, oh,
I guess, like went through the whole morning process, ended
up going to a city in the South, and he's there.
(25:36):
He doesn't even know that's her. He can't just plat
out and be like, I am your wife. So the
novel is basically them going through basically them had starting
their relationship over again as him as this other person
because he's an amnesiac, built a whole nother life and her.
(25:59):
So that's a little twistage, a little uh, I'm not
middle of the road for sure.
Speaker 1 (26:05):
That's dope, Okay, I like that. No, that that sounds
very interesting. Okay, yeah, something like that that throws just
a wrench in the whole plot. No, I like that.
I like that a lot, do so. When so it's
interesting to me, you said you didn't even so I
asked you the conversation you had with yourself after you've
released your first full length publication. Now for you, I mean,
(26:28):
it's like, it's always interesting when I talk to artists
they release something. There's never the time to just sit
back and be like, hey, I did that, I did that,
I did that. Just give yourself that grace, like, hey,
you work your booty off. Time gonna just relax, let
me go celebrate, right, It always seems to be we're
onto the next, on to the next. Don't rest on
(26:49):
your laurels. What do you think, my sad sister in Christ,
Why do you think that is? Why do you why
do you think you function like that where you don't
kind of just lean back and say, hey, that was
the first time I ever did that, my first full
length book of pros and poems.
Speaker 4 (27:07):
I think it's fire sign behavior, to be honest with you. Yeah,
I don't know. I did have a release event that
was really cool. That was at the Vintage Theater in Aurora.
Who Press Iiram Sims came out from California and hosted
me and I had some friends who were my feature openers.
(27:28):
My mom got on stage and aie me. But it
was beautiful.
Speaker 2 (27:35):
That was part of the celebration. But you're right, like.
Speaker 4 (27:37):
I've my orientation is to accomplish something and then just
keep it moving. But I do need to build more
intentional celebration spaces in my life because that's not my nature.
You celebrate other people all day. I'm one of those people.
But me like, oh that anybody can do that?
Speaker 1 (27:58):
Not really, No, no people can't. Honestly, a book is
no joke. So no, yeah, I've yeah, I found that
kind of interesting. A lot of poets, artists. It's just
not being able to just, I don't know, like just
congratulate yourself. Just be like, hey I did that. Let
me just go like take myself on a holiday. Go
(28:18):
on a holiday, go do something nice. Take the weekend off.
How about that concept not work, not stop working for
maybe like a week, just take a week off and
just do something that just honor your spirit that you
don't have to worry about progressing in right, it's just
this is just I'm just here still celebrating how great
(28:40):
my great life is and just what I've accomplished. Now
it's kind of like why, why, why is that? Why
do we not just rest sometimes?
Speaker 2 (28:49):
You know, so always the hustle?
Speaker 4 (28:53):
I guess, sound like you, Caane, I feel like the
answer to that question is centuries old.
Speaker 2 (28:59):
Yeah, it's some multi generational something that I don't even know,
but yeah, yeah.
Speaker 1 (29:06):
For sure. Well that sounds amazing though. So you have
the release party in Aurora, I mean that was what
you know, for those that listen to this, you know
a lot of first time writers, maybe they're looking to
get books published. How much part of the game is having,
you think, a release party and being able to really
have your work celebrated in that type of way. Do
(29:28):
you think all of that kind of aspect, having that
kind of opening launch. Do you think that's very important
for someone's publication a chat book, a book.
Speaker 5 (29:40):
How important do you think that aspect of marketing is?
Speaker 1 (29:43):
You know, because I think a lot of people they
write their book, they write the publication for the press,
then the whole I'd say about seventy percent of it
is now that marketing aspect which is not taught in school,
which is not taught really anywhere. You got to learn
in the streets, I will. How important do you think
though that aspect is?
Speaker 4 (30:05):
Naturally I don't, but my press insisted, and I'm glad
they did because I'm like, oh my gosh, what if
nobody shows up?
Speaker 1 (30:14):
Yeah?
Speaker 2 (30:15):
Real, yeah, people did show up.
Speaker 4 (30:17):
I had coworkers come, I had people from a leadership program,
I was income fellow poets. So yeah, I think if
it is in you to put on a launch, do it.
If it's not, find something else, but I would probably
now it was stressful getting it all together, but once
(30:40):
it was done, it.
Speaker 2 (30:41):
Was very rewarding.
Speaker 1 (30:42):
Yeah.
Speaker 5 (30:43):
Yeah, that rewarding aspect for sure, for sure.
Speaker 1 (30:46):
Absolutely, absolutely, No, that's great and I think that's great
for people to hear.
Speaker 5 (30:51):
That is definitely there is importance.
Speaker 1 (30:53):
There is a key, key value in that aspect of
your art, which is you do have to bring it
to the world some way, somehow, you know what I mean.
That's how you get that traction going. So thank you,
thank you so much for sharing that. All right, So
tell me a bit. Was there a moment that you
knew you were a writer? Was there just a moment
(31:15):
in time. I know we talked a bit earlier about
your childhood, have that multitude of places and spaces you've
been in. But was there just a shock value moment
where you were just like, I am a writer.
Speaker 4 (31:29):
No, not really, I'm still well. It's not something I'm
still dealing with because I've been at it.
Speaker 2 (31:36):
For so long.
Speaker 4 (31:37):
But I think one of the major confirmations of it
was choosing to go to college and get a writing
degree and have the power to concentrate on poetry, studying
it and writing in and all of that. I don't
know if I've ever.
Speaker 2 (31:58):
I don't know.
Speaker 4 (31:59):
I don't think if I did, I sincerely can't remember.
As far as like an epiphany, sure.
Speaker 1 (32:05):
Sure, sure was there a stage in your life you think,
I know you said that awkward moment between eighth grade
and ninth grade? Was there ever that kind of stage though,
where you were just this was all clicking together that
you could do this long term to where you could
actually see yourself publishing a book. I mean, was there
(32:27):
a season in your life that just made everything started
making sense with you being a poet and a writer.
Speaker 4 (32:35):
Yeah, in a strange way from trying to run away
from it.
Speaker 1 (32:39):
Oh wow.
Speaker 4 (32:40):
Yeah, like listening to folks ask me with what are
you going to do with that writing degree?
Speaker 2 (32:47):
Are you going to teach?
Speaker 4 (32:49):
Which is nothing wrong with being a teacher, but you
need specific training to do that that I did not have.
And so after I graduated with my writing degree, I
did all I could to get an office job to
basically deny what I was trying to do and what
my vision for what I had for myself. Yeah, but
(33:10):
I noticed as I had a pattern of doing that,
finding jobs and just kind of being miserable because I
wasn't doing my thing, it was kind of like, well,
you might as well just go ahead and do that
thing that you're naturally supposed to be doing, because you
will suffer if you don't. Yeah, essentially, find some kind
(33:31):
of way to add it back. And I always have
my phone on me writing, So yeah, there's still there
have been times in my life where I couldn't write.
Nothing was happening. I call from reading an essay in
undergrad I call that an essential delay. Sometimes you have
to collect materials and synthesize them and then then they
(33:54):
just come out like an overfilled closet when you open
the door. So that's kind of what happened, just trying
to run away from you're I'm supposed to be a writer,
just kind of running away from that and trying to
find more sensible things.
Speaker 1 (34:13):
Yeah, yeah, it really is. It's funny that life you try.
It's like that one movie, what is it, Final Destination.
Your ass is gonna get hit by that truck. Whether
you like it or not. It's gonna come back around
and come and get you. Well you should you should
be driving the truck. Yes, yeah, yeah, absolutely absolutely. Now
(34:38):
it's interesting how our passions they can be, you know,
they're they're stocked down by so many different things, whether
it be family, parents, right, a lot, like you said,
you have people telling me, I mean, what are you
gonna do with that? Right? And then it's somehow it's
you know, but your your purpose and your soul. You
can't get rid of that. You know, you'll be until
you you find that happiness, you'll be unhappy everywhere. Oh no,
(35:00):
I love that. I love that you've at least, you know,
I really even discovered that in yourself, because that, in
itself takes quite a bit, quite a lot for a
lot of people to get there. So that's really what's up?
All right, Belanda, Thank you so much. You've really just
dropped some gems. We had such a great conversation so
far today. Now the last question we ask every poet
on the Post Speaks podcast, why do you need to
(35:23):
get your words out?
Speaker 2 (35:25):
I need to.
Speaker 4 (35:26):
Get my words out as a form of processing. But
then also I know that somebody somewhere needs to hear
whatever it is I've said because they felt the same way,
or they didn't know that the feeling was possible, or
they didn't know that the processing of the feeling was possible.
(35:47):
Nothing I really do is just for me. I need
to probably get better at being a little bit more selfish,
but I don't know when that'll happen, so it's not
just for me.
Speaker 1 (35:58):
All right, all right, she said she needs to get
the words out there, not just for her.
Speaker 2 (36:03):
All right.
Speaker 1 (36:03):
Well, thank you so much, Rwanda, and tell us as
we wrap up final final question, what is next for
you in twenty twenty four? Where can we find all
of your amazing work? So drop any social media links,
website links for folks to pick up your book and
all your good stuff.
Speaker 2 (36:19):
Absolutely well.
Speaker 4 (36:20):
You can find me on Instagram at Rolanda the poet
with two ease you can find. I can put the
chat for my book on world stage, press whispers and
conversations that you can.
Speaker 6 (36:37):
Bye.
Speaker 4 (36:38):
Really those are the I need to be better at
social media too, speaking of marketing, but those are the
two main places.
Speaker 1 (36:48):
For sure, for sure. All right, any big plans for
the rest at twenty twenty four, and now you say
you're performing some places anywhere you want to drop.
Speaker 4 (36:57):
I'm resting and basically figuring myself out, doing training for
facilitation for the Center of Creative Leadership and just really
focusing on setting goals for next year.
Speaker 1 (37:10):
For sure, for sure, all right, and we'll be looking
forward to and of course we are looking forward to
that second piece, that second book, as well as those
romance novels coming soon surely, at least hopefully. We're very excited.
All right, Rolanda, thank you so much and everyone. Landa's
links will be down below in the detailed section, no
matter where you are listening to this podcast. Again, her
(37:31):
links will be down below in the detail section, no
matter where you are listening to this podcast, all right, Rolanda,
thank you so much for being a guest today on
the post Speaks podcast for happening to me. It's great absolutely,
and again everyone check out All Verlanda's amazing work and
check out the Post Speaks podcast. No matter where you
listen to your podcast, why everyone
Popular Podcasts
Stuff You Should Know
If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.
Crime Junkie
Does hearing about a true crime case always leave you scouring the internet for the truth behind the story? Dive into your next mystery with Crime Junkie. Every Monday, join your host Ashley Flowers as she unravels all the details of infamous and underreported true crime cases with her best friend Brit Prawat. From cold cases to missing persons and heroes in our community who seek justice, Crime Junkie is your destination for theories and stories you won’t hear anywhere else. Whether you're a seasoned true crime enthusiast or new to the genre, you'll find yourself on the edge of your seat awaiting a new episode every Monday. If you can never get enough true crime... Congratulations, you’ve found your people. Follow to join a community of Crime Junkies! Crime Junkie is presented by audiochuck Media Company.
The Breakfast Club
The World's Most Dangerous Morning Show, The Breakfast Club, With DJ Envy, Jess Hilarious, And Charlamagne Tha God!