Vocal Expressions

Shermell’s poetry evokes quite a few feelings from despair to hope, from anger to being loved again, from sorrow to rejoicing. She also takes readers on various journeys of how trust can be broken, stolen, and returned in the midst of being and falling in love. At the end of the day, it’s all about what you are willing to go along with, but mostly importantly is knowing when to put an end to it. I can totally identify with these poems dealing with affairs of the heart. I also enjoyed the poems that were inspired by dreams related to the Katrina hurricane and violence in the streets of Africa. Wished there were a few more poems though. Anyway, good job! My favorite poem: I Remember that Night… I remember that night the room so bright, whispers of conversations, sounds of laughter. I am in a daze, and then appeared a cool breeze, in white entered the room. Everything around me became still; you’re moving with grace, I noticed your face each breath you inhale. I exhaled, becom...

The Baltimore Center Stage closed its season with a bang by showcasing its world premiere of SOUL The Stax Musical . The musical was based on a book written by Matthew Benjamin. It was choreographed by Chase Brock and was the final directorial effort by Kwame Kwei-Armah before assuming the position of artistic director of the Young Vic theatre in London. This musical was inspired by the legendary story of Stax Records (Memphis, Tennessee) and the rise of many musical icons such as Otis Redding, The Staple Singers, Isaac Hayes, Booker T & The MG’s, Rufus & Carla Thomas and so many more gifted singers. All of whom contributed to laying the groundwork for American Soul Music. When I arrived, the lobby was already in full swing with music, singing and dancing. A crowd formed around the performers and some were dragged to participate in dancing. There were a few takers until the doors opened then we all spilled inside and found our seats. But we were already primed for what ...

Author’s Bio : Professor Desouvre is an educator and public speaker born in Port-au-Prince, Haiti and raised in Brooklyn and Philadelphia. He earned a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration with a focus on Management Information Systems and Marketing from Drexel University. He received an MBA, with a focus on Marketing, Mass Communication, and Media Management from Lynn University. His literary works include  Walk Through this Journey  Volume One (2006), Volume Two (2008), A Family Affair  (2010) , Savor the Moments  (2014) , Proud to Be  (2016) ,  and his best-selling children’s book  Big Sister, Little Sister  (2013) available in French, Spanish and Haitian Creole. He is also the author of  An Essential Guide to Windows 10  (2015). He’s a Marketing and Information Technology coach and consultant who has taught at Miami Dade College and Chestnut Hill College .  Audiobooks for  Walk Through this Journey  (V...

Author’s Bio: My name is Shannon Griffin and I am the co-founder and CEO of 4Humanitees. I am the co-author of the Anthology: The Smell of Poverty and a cancer survivor. My company designs and creates socially conscious t-shirts that align and build your brand’s message to generate revenue. I speak on survivorship of circumstances that try to take your life and keep you trapped. I help survivors get their life back, walk in their faith to activate their gifts. DL: What’s the inspiration for writing your book? SG: In this anthology we will provide you with various "Poverty Stories" from professional, successful individuals that have made great strides to break the poverty circle and change their mindsets. The goal of this collection of poverty triumphs will be on a greater scale. It will be an informative platform to educate, uplift and change the mindsets about the effects of poverty on families and individuals with life changing webinars, course and conference to he...

Whether it’s a thriller or a story about relationships, Eric Jerome Dickey can definitely write an epic tale. In The Blackbirds , Eric introduces readers to four best friends (Kwanzaa, Destiny, Indigo and Ericka) who will ride or die for each other. Each of these women are battling their own demons while trying to work through their romantic and family dramas. What I really loved about this book was that Eric focused on each of these women as friends and how each of them celebrated their birthdays. I have to say that Eric did an awesome job in showing the frailties of each woman and how embarking on various romantic relationships made them so real, so vulnerable, so human. I found them to be relatable in some aspects – the hypocrisy of family (do as I say not as I do), lies men tell when they are playing games, etc. Through it all, these women remained loyal to each other as they navigated through their various heartaches. Some found love when they least expected it while others w...