I’m word weaver, a born believer
scripted from large Gaelic scrawl.

My sharecropper Carolina-born parents
sensed the wailing of Wales in me 

that’s why they named me, Glenis Gale,
a valley wind blowing temperamentally,

a highly sensitive poetic seed able to perceive
the delightful yellow power of sunflower possibilities.

My life-line is rooted to a row of Word Women:
Angelou, Clifton, Walker, Giovanni and Morrison.

Those hardy brown faces saluting the sun.
is where I find sweet womanist grit.

I siphon literary good sense,
to straightened my backbone bent.

Their green stalk strength
saved me.  I am a red clay casualty,

but don’t let hate bind me. People talkin’
‘bout a post racist society. Say what? 

I come from an America where Sojourner’s
words still ring true and I scream, Ain’t I a woman?

Zora had it right,
the world be mulin’ me.

Yet, I catch a ripple from that dark pond called, mother,
reverberating from her even darker hued mother.

We failed the paper sack test.
We melanin blessed.

The darkness I possess means
I have been cooked poetically.

Stewed in the juices of the Southern Sun.
I am not my father’s Dream Deferred.

I am not a raisin dried, but plump with rich words
with each poetic step I take as a word-dealer

a poem-builder, a metaphor-sifter,
a rhythm-quaker, a seed-planter.

I give            I get

I make up   I take up

I let go         I give in

I take in      I let out

I circle          I spiral

radiate verbs  cul de sac verve
share poetic recipes     sip sorrow-

‘til it recedes as gentle pen pusher
as creative encourager for others to spin time,

therapeutically quilting what the world
has taken apart at the hinges of the heart.

I deal in denominations of Hope,
where I’ve got emerald thumbs to cope.

About the Artist Glenis Redmond returns as the State Theatre's 2010 Artist-in-Residence. Glenis is a poet, educator, performer, and counselor rolled into one passionate soul. She presents her poetry in performances that cause the printed word to spring from the page and dance, sing, weep, and laugh. Glenis tells stories with poetry—tales from her life, her family, her African-American heritage, and her sensitive observations of the world around her—inspiring audiences of all ages. Though steeped in Afro-Carolinian roots, she speaks a universal tongue of love, loss, celebration, sorrow and hope. Her verse uplifts family, culture, and community.   Glenis’ love of words has carried her across the country for over 13 years. This Road Warrior Poet logs over 35,000 miles each year as she performs throughout the U.S., England, and Italy. She shares her poetry in performances, residencies and workshops with audiences as varied as schools, juvenile detention centers, universities, coffeehouses, performing arts centers, and educational television. Glenis also inspires others to pick up their pen, find their voice, and travel their own poetic road. Glenis has won numerous awards including the North Carolina Literary Award and a Denny C. Plattner Award for Outstanding Poetry, awarded by the Appalachian Heritage Journal. She is a national workshop leader with the Kennedy Center's Partners in Education Program in Washington, D.C. She is a past winner of the Southern Fried Poetry Slam and a top-ten finalist in the National Poetry Slam.

Glenis Redmond Residency Participating Groups   Anderson House,  Whitehouse Station   Crawford House, Skillman   Damon House, New Brunswick   Edison Job Corps Academy   Emily Fisher Charter School, Trenton   Highland Park High School   Horizon Blue Cross   Blue Shield of NJ, Newark   Newark Christian School   New Brunswick  High School   New Brunswick  Senior Center   New Brunswick Youth Services System     Project Girl  Performance Collective   Queen City  Academy Charter  School, Plainfield     Raritan Valley Academy, Piscataway