Mission:
Candid Convos: Progress in Process is a video series of real conversations with real people in the process of their art/art-making/calling/mission. If our life's work is not about the destination and more about appreciating the journey, then these conversations will serve as a platform for those in the process of their artwork/career/business. Diverse creators will have the floor to share what it’s like for them to create and how their identity and experiences inform the journey every step of the way. These conversations will inform, support, challenge, and inspire viewers to embrace their own processes, ensuring those of us still in the thick of the journey that we are not alone.
Hosts
Tayllor Johnson (@tayllorjpoetry)
Poet, Writer, Performer, Educator, Justice Seeker, Founder of #ImNotYourEnemy Movement |
Photo Cred. Kearah-Armonie
Ade Davis (@theprincepoet)
Singer, Poet, Writer, Songwriter, Musician, Actor, Performer, Educator, Activist |
Episode 1: We Know the Vibe
Ayanna McNeill
Writer, Author, Mental Health Consultant, Harriet Returned LLC
As a native of “Pre-gentrified” Bed-Stuy, Ayanna McNeill has grown up being exposed to the beauty of storytelling and the power of freeing people’s minds through writing. Since the age of 12 she fell in love with poetry and began writing. Ayanna learned early on the importance of education and the responsibility of sharing knowledge. She attributes her upbringing to why she writes, and why she chose to become an educator and mental health counselor. She graduated from the nation’s oldest historically black university, Lincoln University PA in 2008. She received her Master’s from Alfred University in 2010.
As a poet and cultural curator, Ayanna has been called “Harriet Returned” and she created a LLC of the same name to promote her various artistic projects. Ayanna has performed on stage, television and radio alongside seasoned artists such as Saul Williams and Abiodun Oyewole of ‘The Last Poets’. In 2010, Ayanna self-published her first book Before There Were Guns There Were Gods.
She is currently completing three fictional suspense novels, Half of What You See: The Scars of Love, None of What You Hear: Redemption and Repairs, and Everything You Feel: When Trauma Creates Mayhem set to be released early 2020.
Instagram: @harrietreturned / @beautifulflower.tornedpetals
Facebook: Harriet Returned
Email: harrietreturned@gmail.com
Writer, Author, Mental Health Consultant, Harriet Returned LLC
As a native of “Pre-gentrified” Bed-Stuy, Ayanna McNeill has grown up being exposed to the beauty of storytelling and the power of freeing people’s minds through writing. Since the age of 12 she fell in love with poetry and began writing. Ayanna learned early on the importance of education and the responsibility of sharing knowledge. She attributes her upbringing to why she writes, and why she chose to become an educator and mental health counselor. She graduated from the nation’s oldest historically black university, Lincoln University PA in 2008. She received her Master’s from Alfred University in 2010.
As a poet and cultural curator, Ayanna has been called “Harriet Returned” and she created a LLC of the same name to promote her various artistic projects. Ayanna has performed on stage, television and radio alongside seasoned artists such as Saul Williams and Abiodun Oyewole of ‘The Last Poets’. In 2010, Ayanna self-published her first book Before There Were Guns There Were Gods.
She is currently completing three fictional suspense novels, Half of What You See: The Scars of Love, None of What You Hear: Redemption and Repairs, and Everything You Feel: When Trauma Creates Mayhem set to be released early 2020.
Instagram: @harrietreturned / @beautifulflower.tornedpetals
Facebook: Harriet Returned
Email: harrietreturned@gmail.com
Community Links/References!
Word Up Café- https://www.facebook.com/Word-Up-Cafe-148499431968057/
Cathie Wright Lewis- http://www.cathiewrightlewis.com
The Last Poets- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Last_Poets
Get Lit- https://getlit.org
Ashley August- http://www.ashleyaugust.com
Power in the Pen- https://www.facebook.com/events/620949788340434/
LAZO TV- https://instagram.com/lazo_tv?igshid=rjbs5gnpadal
Cathie Wright Lewis- http://www.cathiewrightlewis.com
The Last Poets- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Last_Poets
Get Lit- https://getlit.org
Ashley August- http://www.ashleyaugust.com
Power in the Pen- https://www.facebook.com/events/620949788340434/
LAZO TV- https://instagram.com/lazo_tv?igshid=rjbs5gnpadal
