Rising Voices: Poems Toward a Social Justice Revolution

Product Description

At this pivotal moment in humankind’s evolution, the voices rising from this anthology are more essential than ever before, in bringing understanding, healing, and transformation to our world. The powerful insights, wisdom, and revelations in this volume are only derived from personal, lived experience and only conveyed through the power of poetry. Social justice is not only the theme of these empowering verses; it is also served, and the Beloved Community advanced, through these Rising Voices.

Dan Hocoy, PhD
President, Goddard College
Co-Editor, Shadows & Light: Theory, Research, and Practice in Transpersonal Psychology (Vols. 1 & 2)

The poems in Rising Voices, like powerful anthems, call for a relationally ethical connection between heart and mind by evoking emotions, prompting meaningful questions, critical reflections, and generating insights into uniquely lived local experiences otherwise foreclosed by intellectualism, lost in generalized narratives, and ignored by disaffection.

Héctor Luis Vargas, PhD
Full Professor, Regis University

It is with distinct pleasure that I endorse Rising Voices, a compelling portrayal of life identifying everyday issues that are real and present. I found that each poem is distinctive and personal to the poet, yet the longings and sufferings are shared by us all. The authors do our country a great service toward understanding the multiculturalism and diversity that exists in the United States. My hats off and a salute to all the great poets who contributed to this book.

Michael Colombe
Candidate for U.S House of Representatives, Colorado 5th Congressional District

This is not just a book of poems, but also expressions of black history through poetic self-reflections. When you read this book, you will be able to free your mind and enlightenment will follow.

Dr. Regina A. Lewis
CEO of ReginaSpeaking, LLC

As always with the Poetry, Healing, and Growth Series books, I find myself enthralled, breathless, and sobbing as I read the poems in Rising Voices. The pain, the triumph, and the joy seep through the pages and into my soul. Reading these poems is an opportunity to bear witness to the experience of what it is like to live in the skin of someone who has felt the pain of being unseen, rejected, unwanted, kicked out, shamed, and despondent. I believe that “love means never looking away” and that has been an ethic I strive to live by. Reading these pages is an opportunity to refuse to look away–to bear witness to the experience and wisdom and then to take our place in the revolution. “We have nothing to lose but our chains” ~Assata Shakur

Lisa Xochitl Vallejos, PhD
Rocky Mountain Humanistic Counseling and Psychological Association

Rising Voices covers topics relating to social justice, activism, discrimination, and empathy, focusing on the need to speak out and inspire us all to stay woke. This book will impress poetry lovers because the voices are here and now, and real. We all feel the healing power when we are free to share our stories without fear of judgment. Stories are how we humans understand ourselves and each other. One of my greatest teachers (Dr. David Simon) told me that behind every illness there is a love story waiting to be told. If we allow someone to share their story with us, they will eventually reveal where they are stuck in life. Our life is our story, and each one of us has a unique story to tell. I’m grateful for these great activists, authors, and poets who share their soul’s talent–making the world better, one poem at a time.

Denise Widner, (C-IAYT), Mental Health Counselor candidate