The sacred activist who is not afraid of being the spark
Redwood Reider. image from http://www.redwoodreider.org/bio.html
In order to change ourselves or the world; perhaps first we must be inspired and know we are not alone?
Redwood Reider is a spoken word poet who does just this. She feels pain: the personal and the political; then spins the pain into a magical weave which embraces her listeners and inspires seeds of change. Historically, the power of poetry has been a tool for social movement; Redwood is recording an album of her poetry to do exactly what poetry is designed for. To move us. Movement is where we can perhaps become unstuck in the overwhelming challenges of our current times and begin to create positive change.
Her album is titled ‘Sacred Activist’ and recording has already begun. It will be a fusion of Redwood’s “deepest, most resonant poetry collection yet.” The poems on her album weave together the personal and the political; the self and the sacred. It speaks to that space between what is happening in the world and what happens within us. In a way, I see Redwood’s work as letting me know I’m not the only one who wants to change the world; she names injustice and inspires the sacred activist within. She gives voice to my silent soul that yearns to speak.
What is a Sacred Activist?
According to Redwood, it is one who
“figures out how to ‘breathe in world’s pain, breathe out light / keep heart fires burning through the longest night’.”
Redwood, herself a sacred activist, writes her poems to keep herself going in the world as an ecological activist and, quite simply, as a human being. She is excited about the album as her “deepest work [will] go home with people for them to weave into their own lives.” Within the activism, there is also the stuff that keeps us light and enlightened, her spoken word is recorded with talented musicians that brews “a gentle but enlivening, intimate stew of mostly acoustic sounds, from guitar to cello.”
The pledge for poetry
Redwood has set up a pledgeme page to bring in what she calls ” a co-investment by a community of listeners.” She needs to pay the people who are assisting her to create the album, and explains that “all funds from this campaign will go to feeding and sustaining those musical folks making this album, so they can help me create some food for your soul.”
For more information on Redwood Reider click here or visit www.redwoodreider.org
The Sacred Activist album pledgeme page: click here
“this is the path of the sacred activist
one who stands freely on the precipice
with a heart that’s open
to seeing the dark
with a heart
that’s not afraid of being the spark”
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