Join us for the Ways of Love Book Launch with renowned author William Waldorf! This exciting event will take place online, allowing you to participate from the comfort of your own home.
Discover the magic of love as William Waldorf shares his latest masterpiece. Get ready to be captivated by his enchanting poetry and profound insights into the many facets of love. Whether you’re a fan of romance, poetry, or simply enjoy a good read, this book launch is not to be missed!
During the event, you’ll have the opportunity to interact with William Waldorf and ask him questions about his inspiration, writing process, and the themes explored in his book. Don’t forget to invite your friends and fellow book lovers to share in this delightful experience.
Mark your calendars and join us online for the Ways of Love Book Launch with William Waldorf – an event that will leave you feeling inspired and eager to dive into the world of love through the pages of this extraordinary book.
Zaneta Varnado Johns shares her poetic experiences and talks about her prolific works with the Women Speakers Association TV.
In the video Johns shared about a poem by none other than Nikki Giovanni and how this experience encouraged her poetic life. Of course, I had to go find a video, so here you go: Nikki Giovanni recites Ego Tripping
Be sure to get your copy of Encore: A Collection of Poetry. It’s available in print and eBook. If you would like an autographed copy go to: ZanExpressions
Before computers, we wrote letters. My mother’s letters were like little novellas, several pages long. Her family members and friends loved to get her “books.” Letters from mom were heartfelt and brought tears of love. As her pen moved passionately across the pages, sometimes her clear, blue eyes would well up. Letters were her release. They were her way of expressing herself in ways she could not voice. Occasionally, she would write letters to people out of anger and then tear them up. These could have been to politicians, relatives, and those are the ones I knew about. She would express her heart’s desire, open up her soul, and pour out her thoughts.
While I did not have the beautiful penmanship of my mother, I learned that the pen was my power. Some of my letters were releases which I destroyed. At age 15, I even wrote one about the need for a doctor in our little town. The letter and story was published in the newspaper.
As a writer and a poet, I write as if my words are letters to the world, perhaps to express the desires of my heart. Other times I write to simply write.
When we do express our desires within our heart this has a way of stirring up thoughts and even action plans to make things happen. They could be acceptances of things that can’t be changed, but often are steps toward courage to make something happen.
I posed this question and requested to others: What is the desire in your heart? This is my challenge to you. I would like to read about the desires in your heart in the “Dear Heart” anthology of letters, poetry, art, photography, and whatever ways helps you express your passion.
There was a caveat to this. In honor of my mother, the expressions were to be sent to me via good old fashioned snail mail.
Now, it is my pleasure to bring to you these beautiful heartfelt responses via Dear Heart.
Lisa Tomey-Zonneveld
Contributirs: Alice Taylor, Chyrel J. Jackson, Danielle Martin, Jia-Li Yang, Jill Sharon Kimmelman, Jodi Lynn Nehring, Karen Monteith, Max H. Tomey, Nanci Arvizu, Pratibha Savani, Rebecca Herz, Richa Dinesh Sharma, Robin Klammer, Sarah Ryan, Shiela Denise Scott, Steve Anc, Terri Michels, and Zaneta Varnado Johns.
Special Shout out to Kay Doiron for the cover art and to Zan Johns for her wonderful editing skills.
How do we reconcile the outdated notions of being a selfless matriarch with a modern-day understanding that being a mom is about learning to give back to yourself in order to give to others?
How do we learn to accept what it is we wish to hold from our matriarchs and yet also release to become empowered mothers with our own wants, needs, and values?
In Hoods of Motherhood: A Collection of Poems, Lindsay Soberano Wilson, a first-generation Jewish Canadian granddaughter of Romanian Holocaust survivors and Spanish Moroccan immigrants, compiles a bittersweet portrayal of becoming a mother. From the highs and lows of recurrent miscarriages to contending with c-section shame, to larger issues such as intergenerational trauma, and everyday issues like breastfeeding, Soberano Wilson’s first full book of poetry, is relatable, lyrical, and confessional with evocative imagery, allusions, wordplay, rhyme, and rhythm.
What Others Say
The at once soft and brash reality of motherhood is paired with the beauty and nostalgia of mothering in Hoods of Motherhood by Lindsay Soberano Wilson. The poet’s truthful treatise on both the resilience and challenges and joy and humor of motherhood will be familiar to anyone who has been a mother or had a mother. Soberano Wilson masterfully captures the dance we mothers create as we find balance between being mothers and self-flourishing. While the poems are rooted in the experience of motherhood, fierce and tender, they catalyze the ancestral healing of past, present, and future generations. Hoods of Motherhood earns a permanent place on my bookshelf.
Aimee Brown Gramblin, Writer and Poet
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This lyrical collection buzzes with energy, beautiful imagery and memorable ruminations on everything from parenthood to art to our natural world. Soberano-Wilson is definitely a poet to watch.
David Silverberg, founder and former artistic director of Toronto Poetry Slam, author of As Close to the Edge Without Going Over (ChiZine Books)
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Lindsay Soberano Wilson’s “Hoods of Motherhood” is a collection of deeply personal and introspective poems that offer a lyrical and evocative exploration of the themes related to the experience of motherhood, including personal history and self-care. In her poetry, Wilson contemplates the challenges of raising a child while reflecting on the impact of her family’s history and trauma, including the Holocaust and the experiences of its survivors. Through her writing, Wilson engages in a healing ritual, using poetry to cleanse herself of these experiences and find solace and understanding. Her evocative language and poignant imagery invite readers to immerse themselves in the emotional landscape of motherhood, where the mundane details of daily life blend with the weight of historical memory, creating a rich and textured tapestry of human experience.
Michal Mahgerefteh, Managing Editor, Poetica Publishing
***
This is a powerful collection about the challenges of motherhood. Readers will be drawn equally to the relatability of the themes and the impressive wordplay. Fuelled by a passion, each poem deftly explores the polarizing nature of parenthood with a jaunty writing style that is as explosive as poignant. Whether the stereotype challenging “Down With Cool Girl” or the lyrical “Our Sanctuary”, this collection is consistently engaging and enlightening.
Scott Carter author of Blind Luck and Barrett Fuller’s Secret
About The Author
Soberano-Wilson graduated from Concordia University’s Creative Writing program and went on to earn a Master of Arts degree in English Literature from the University of Toronto. She is a member of the Canadian League of Poets. Her poetry has been published in Fine Lines Literary Journal, FreshVoices, The Embrace of Dawn, PoetryPause, Quills Erotic Canadian Poetry Magazine, Canadian Woman Studies Journal, Poetica Magazine, and various anthologies, and online literary magazines and blogs.
Her debut chapbook, Casa de mi Corazón: A Travel Journal of Poetry and Memoir (Poetica Publishing), is a hybrid journal of poetry and memoir about how her sense of community, identity, and home was shaped by her past travels.
She has demonstrated that her brazen, yet gentle voice, speaks to an audience as reflected by her growing following across social media platforms, such as Twitter, Instagram, TikTok, and Medium.
Where to Find
Hoods of Motherhood: A Collection of Poems is available on several platforms and can be accessed via the following:
Hoods of Motherhood will be featured at a live book launch where you can meet the author. This will be held at Flying Books・784 College St.・Toronto, ON More June 22, 6:30-8 p.m. EST
Years ago, before computers, we wrote letters. My mother’s letters were like little novellas. They sometimes were several pages long. She wrote her family members and friends and they loved to get her “books.” How I wish I had saved my letters from mom. As a witness to her letter writing, I would watch as her pen moved passionately across the pages, sometimes witnessing her eyes well up. Letters were her release. They were her way of expressing herself in ways she could not voice. Sometimes she would write letters to people out of anger and then tear them up. To my knowledge, she never sent one of those angry letters. It could have been politicians, relatives, and those are the ones I knew about. She would express her heart’s desire, open up her soul, and pour out her thoughts.
As a letter writer, I did not have the beautiful penmanship of my mother, but I learned that the pen was my power. I also wrote letters and tore them up. I even wrote one about the need for a doctor in our little town and it was published in the newspaper. I wrote letters to family, friends, old friends found from a long time lost, family who I wanted to see but knew my letters would reach them long before I ever would.
Now, I am a writer and a poet. I write as if my words are letters to the world, at times. Other times, I write to express my desires of the heart. And other times I write to write.
I firmly believe that when we do express our desires within our heart that this has a way of stirring up thoughts and even action plans to make things happen. Sometimes those things that happen are acceptances of things that can’t be changed, but sometimes they are steps to taking up the courage to make something happen in our lives.
What is the desire in your heart? This is my challenge to you. I would like to read about the desires in your heart in the “Dear Heart” anthology of letters, poetry, art, photography, and whatever ways helps you express your passion.
There’s a caveat to this. These are all to be sent to me via good old fashioned snail mail. I will sort through these and select which submissions to publish.
As a teacher, I will always remain a student. In the classroom of life, l wish to work with and educate others. Whether you’re a teacher, student, or just your average person, here are a few of my "TEACHERble" moments.
Hi! my name is Sebastian (You can call me Seb!) ...welcome to my Blog. I'm a photographer from Worcester, Worcestershire, England. Thanks for dropping by! I hope you enjoy my work.
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