Versify

For much of her life, Ali Russell has been uncertain about religion. Even as a little girl, she’d ask her parents, “How do we know we’re worshiping the right God?” She even had a Jesus dream that still lingers with her today. In this episode, Ali shares her story to her longtime friend and Nashville poet Dana Malone, who takes Ali’s religious odyssey and transforms it into poetry.   The story and poem from this episode were recorded by field producer Tasha French Lemley at Casa Azafran in Nashville.  Credits: Versify is hosted by Joshua Moore, a poet with The Porch, Nashville’s nonprofit literary center. The show is edited and produced by WPLN’s Tony Gonzalez, with additional editing on this episode by Mack Linebaugh, Alicia Marie Brandewie, Anita Bugg, and Susannah Felts. The show is mastered by Carl Pedersen. The music is by Chris Zabriskie and Textile Audio, found through the Free Music Archive. Versify is a production of Nashville Public Radio and PRX. Stories and poems are gathered with the help of Th

Serg Rodriguez hasn’t seen his family in years. He was excommunicated by their church and grew apart from his parents and siblings. But now as a writer in Nashville, his little sister is never far from his mind. Without warning, she troubles his thoughts and finds here way into everything he puts on paper. In this episode, we find out how family rejection has actually helped Serg to better understand unconditional love. And then Nashville poet Ciona Rouse turns Serg’s story into an original poem. Credits: Editing and production by Tony Gonzalez, hosting and editing by Joshua Moore. Additional editing assistance: Emily Siner, Blake Farmer, Anita Bugg, Susannah Felts, Katie McDougall, & J. Joseph Kane. The show is mastered by Carl Pedersen. The music is by The Ampersand Posture, with additional tracks by Coolzey, and DarkSunn. Versify is a production of Nashville Public Radio and PRX. Stories and poems are gathered with the help of The Porch, Nashville's nonprofit literary center.

Ebralie Mwizerwa is a mother of five, an accountant, a devoted church-goer — and a survivor of the 1994 Rwandan genocide. She fled with her family while pregnant and now runs a nonprofit that assists incoming refugee families in Nashville, Tennessee. Ebralie shares the story of her harrowing escape to poet Destiny Birdsong, who takes up the challenge of crafting an original poem for Ebralie — “trying to figure out how to speak the unspeakable,” as Destiny says. This story was recorded at Legacy Mission Village and the poem recorded live on stage as part of the International Women’s Day celebration at OZ Arts Nashville in March 2017. Credits: Editing/Co-production by: Tony Gonzalez, Hosting/Co-production by: Joshua Moore Additional Editing assistance: Emily Siner, Blake Farmer, Anita Bugg, Susannah Felts, Ciona Rouse, and Carissa Stolting The show is mastered by Carl Pedersen. The music is by The Pangolins and by Komiku — both found through the Free Music Archive.

Fred Bailey grew up blind on a farm in Gallatin, Tennessee — except he didn’t actually know he was blind at first. Through a run in with a teacher, a visit to a doctor, and a confrontation with his father, he learned how to find strength in his limitations. And now he strives to pass on a similar tenacity to children through his after-school program, Children Are People. In this episode, Fred shares his story to Nashville poet and rapper Saran Thompson. And then within minutes, Saran takes what he’s heard and transforms it into an original poem. Credits: Editing/co-production by: Tony Gonzalez, Hosting/co-production by: Joshua Moore. Additional Editing assistance: Emily Siner, Blake Farmer, Anita Bugg, and Susannah Felts. Production assistance, recording, and mastering by Luke Wiget. A special thanks to The McJimpsey Center and the Jefferson Street Art Crawl for hosting the event where this audio were recorded on March 25, 2017. The music is by Saran Thompson. Versify is a production of Nashville Publ

In the newest podcast from Nashville Public Radio, The Porch writers’ collective, and PRX, people tell life stories and hear writers turn their words into poetry. We launch on Aug. 24 with three episodes. Here’s a sneak peak.

Versify is part storytelling and part poetry. It begins by sending our team of poets out into neighborhoods and to community events, where we invite people to share a story from their life. The person they are sharing it to — the person listening — is one of our poets. This is where the magic comes in. The poet listens intently and then turns that life story into a poem, on the spot.