Kaleidoscope: Women of Color Reflecting Life
Feb 19, 3:00 PM – 4:00 PM ESTvirtual event
In the middle of the COVID-19 pandemic a group of women gathered online to write and share poetry in a workshop launched by Esther Productions Inc. The event was titled Women are Poetry In Motion. Participants continued to meet and the group evolved into the Kaleidoscope Writing Collective--seven women writers in various stages of their development exploring their creativity and sharing their vision.
Come on February 19 at 3 pm come experience Kaleidoscope: Women of Color Reflecting Life.
Introduction to first book, Kaleidoscope by Joy Jones, director of the performance poetry group, The Spoken Word and founder of the multigenerational double Dutch team, DC Retro Jumpers.
featuring
Beverly Sims, Blanche Thomas, Betty Nyangoni, Rosalind Blunt, Kanimozhi MV, Sharon Burton, Lesa Warrick and jonetta rose barras
BEVERLY SIMS resides in Chicago, Illinois. Through God’s grace I’ve endured for 60 plus years. I work remotely for a local hospital in finance as well as consulting for a health organization. In my spare time I enjoy poetry and short story writing as well as creative arts. I love to listen to people’s life stories and transform them onto a page. Upon retirement I will devote my time to writing and watching sunsets with my dog Charlie. Most of my writing comes from my personal life experience. I thank everyone who has encouraged me, taught me and helped me in my growth. Butterflies don’t become beautiful overnight, and flowers rise from the dirt. My hope is that everyone finds purpose in their pain, joy in midst of chaos and passion in their pursuit. I am grateful for the opportunity to be a part of the group. We have encouraged, virtually hugged and shared a bit of ourselves throughout the pandemic. We are no longer strangers. We are connected.
ROSALIND BLUNT of Fairfax began her career as a middle school English teacher in Richmond, Virginia after completing her graduate studies in English at the University of Virginia and undergraduate studies at Hampton University. She continued her teaching career at Northern Virginia Community College - Loudoun Campus where she retired as Professor Emerita. In addition to teaching, she has worked as a writing consultant, editor of a community-based non-profit’s newsletter, and a copy editor. While teaching, she often helped individuals self-publish fiction and nonfiction books which are currently available on Amazon.com. Helping others self-publish their writing motivated her to consider publishing her own writing, a book of poetry. She always loved studying and teaching poetry, and, believing that poetry should be read orally as well as silently, she usually read poems aloud during class. She hoped to encourage students to appreciate the sounds of the words as well as the images created by the words. After retiring from teaching, she had time to pursue the idea of self-publishing a collection of poems and began to draft ideas to enable her to achieve her goal.
SHARON BURTON is an artist, poet, and creativity coach based in the Washington, DC area. She is a visual artist whose preferred medium is collage and mixed media and has exhibited her art in galleries, art venues and other settings across the country since 2007. Her work can be found in private collections in Atlanta, Washington, DC and other places across the country.
In 2018, she started writing poetry as a form of creative expression after dealing with a life lesson. In 2019, she compiled a chapbook of 35+ poems which she self-published for her friends and family entitled Moon Rising in Capricorn. With feedback from those who read the poems in this collection, Sharon was encouraged to write more poems. She is currently writing a book of inspirational affirmations for creatives and artists at midlife and will officially publish a poetry book within the next year.
Sharon is based in Southern Maryland, outside of Washington, DC. When she is not working or creating, you can find her hiking in the forests along the East Coast or indulging in Artist’s Dates to
museums, cafes or spending quality time with her calico cat, Athena.
BETTY NYANGONI,Ph. D., is a semi-retired educator and consultant. In her professional and academic career, among other things. she has served as a schoolteacher, professor, supervisor and administrator. These and other pursuits have taken her to several states, countries and continents. Her current writings reflect some of her personal experiences throughout her travels and career. They have provided her unique insights into people. places and things. Her interests are wide, varied and interdisciplinary. Although she has written in other genres, none of her previous works have been in poetry. During the Covid-19 shutdown, she turned to writing poetry. Along the way, she received valuable support and professional guidance from her Kaleidoscope family. It proved to be a joyful learning, enlightening and fun-filled experience. The poems included in this collection are the result.
Dr. Nyangoni resides in Washington, DC with her granddaughter, Taylor and her pit bull Bleu.
KANIMOZHI MV is a poet and writer. I write mostly in my native language. I come from Tamil Nadu, south India currently residing in Virginia. I was practicing as an attorney back home. Currently I am a full-time writer.
I have published three poetry books-- two on Amazon kindle and one in print. This group provided a lot of confidence to write poems in English and this my first set of poems to be published in English.
BLANCHE THOMAS was born, raised and still reside in Chicago, IL on the west side. Currently, I am an empty nester but am truly blessed to have the love and support of my beautiful family and many loyal friends.
After spending 40+ years in corporate America, I retired in 2020. A year later, I decided to open an online fashion boutique, chitownchicboutique.com. Most of my days are now spent growing my small business and living life like it’s golden.
My love of writing blossomed during my elementary school years when my friends and I would write poetry, short stories, and songs. By 7th grade, we were writing, directing, and starring in our own theatre productions for our classmates. My passion for writing continued over the years. It became my therapy of choice to help identify and express the many emotions and changes I experienced during different seasons of my life. It is also a creative outlet that allows my spirit to run free and embrace life more passionately.
LESA WARRICK is a proud mother of one son, Courtney Jr. (CJ), but she mentors and pours into the lives of young people daily. She is a National Board-Certified Exceptional Needs Teacher who enjoys working with children of all ages, but her passion is working with students with special needs. She also has a passion for teaching young people about empathy and compassion through civic engagement and service-learning projects as she believes in blessing others so that her life can be blessed. During her personal time, she loves listening to gospel music, journaling, volunteering, walking, and traveling. Ms. Warrick credits much of her personal growth to her strong faith and the words of wisdom instilled in her by her deceased mother and deceased Aunty J. She knows it
is only because of her strong faith and journaling their encouraging words contributed to her healing and finish strong in overcoming many the hurdles in her life. Ms. Warrick hopes that she can model her strong faith to those who continue to cross her path, especially to her son so that can pass the words of wisdom and his own faith experiences to his children and family generations to come.
jonetta rose barras is a best-selling author, poet, playwright, award- winning journalist and editor. She is the editor of Discovering Me… Without You: Teen Girls Speak About Father Absence (Esther Productions Inc. Books 2020). Barras is the author Bridges: Reuniting Daughters and Daddies (Bancroft Press 2005), Black Board bestseller Whatever Happened to Daddy’s Little Girl: The Impact of Fatherlessness on Black Women (Ballantine 2000 hardcover, 2001 paperback) and The Last of the Black Emperors: The Hollow Comeback of Marion Barry in the New Age of Black Leaders (Bancroft Press 1998).
jonetta also is the author of the critically acclaimed poetry collection The Corner Is No Place For Hiding (Bunny and the Crocodile Press 1996). Her poems and short stories also have appeared in numerous anthologies including “Amazing Graces” (Paycock Press 2012) and “It’s All Love: Black Writers on Soul Mates, Family, and Friends” (Broadway Books 2009). Her book “Twelve Steps to Reconciliation” is scheduled for release by Bancroft Press in 2023.
While a resident of Washington, DC, jonetta calls New Orleans home.
It's Free. Registration is required.
For more information about Esther Productions, Inc, please visit estherproductionsinc.