Indie Reads Aloud: A Storytelling Podcast

Intelligent, nostalgic and accessible free verse poems on themes including innocence, childhood, family, mature love, faith, place (Michigan and Lake Michigan) aging and acceptance. This first published book of poetry by a writer approaching his 70th birthday encourages others to pursue long-deferred dreams as well.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR: The roots of Joseph's writing are in The Great Isolation of COVID-19. He set out to journal through the pandemic, but soon became too discouraged to continue. He decided instead to collect his poems in one place so that they might not one day be entirely forgotten. He began to gather his poems – most of which were written more than 20 years ago to post them to a blog – and was delighted when he also found himself writing new poems. Common themes of his poetry include family, love of all types, faith and the occasional lack thereof, loss of innocence, and a love of place (Lake Michigan!).

He lives near Ann Arbor, Michigan, with his wife, Linda, and a dog named Lincoln. Joseph and Linda have a whole passel of grandchildren, some of whom live nearby. He is proud of his sobriety, a challenge accepted in 2012.

Learn More at https://www.dkpwriter.com/indiereadsaloudseasonfour

Listener Advisory: Language

High school math teacher Ezra Pavic is having a hard time. His wife left him, his son barely tolerates him, and now he's being blindsided by something he never saw coming: the emotional spin cycle of parenting a parent. His mother Irene has dementia, and it's exhausting. Caring for her is a constant source of frustration, resentment, and guilt. Lots of guilt.

Overwhelmed by it all, Ezra opens a strip-mall school to help others-and himself-become better caregivers. As he learns to handle the personalities of his nine misfit students, Ezra must also navigate the complex feelings he has toward his mother. It doesn't help that she adores his do-nothing slacker brother.

But Ezra hasn't told his students that he also has an agenda beyond becoming a more compassionate caregiver. And, it turns out, so does one of his students. Ezra confides the entire tale to his childhood friend Danny as he attempts to sort it all out and find room in his heart again for compassion and love.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Alfredo Botello is a screenwriter who has worked on projects ranging from the Indie Sundance Global Short La Revolucion De Iguodala to the studio tent pole Fast and Furious 9. He is a Fulbright Fellow in architecture and a Nicholl Fellow in screenwriting. His debut novel, 180 Days, has won multiple literary awards. In addition to screenplays and novels, he has written for The San Francisco Examiner Magazine, Metropolis, Diablo, Surface, The Utne Reader, Style, The East Bay Express, and The Monthly.

Botello also co-owns Little Bar, a cocktail bar in downtown Oakland, California, and at home dotes on his two Corgis, George and Dotty.

Learn More at https://www.dkpwriter.com/indie-reads-aloud-podcast

Traveling in space with a pet chicken has its challenges.

Jasper and Opal's first mission with their scientist parents is to study the world of Ishenor to see if it could be a home for humans. They travel to the planet's surface with Nugget, their pet chicken, to collect samples. Everyone has a job to do.

While their parents explore the landscape, Opal gathers plants and Jasper collects rocks. Nugget's job is to stay out of trouble, but hunting for bugs leads her to a lost baby dragon.

Can Opal, Jasper, and Nugget get the dragon home safely before their parents return, or will they all be grounded forever?

This fun science fiction adventure series is aimed at kids ages 6-8.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Jean Davis writes an array of speculative fiction, including short stories, a space opera series, stand-alone novels, and children's picture books about her chickens. When taking a break from fictional people, she spends time with her musical husband, a small flock of ducks and chickens, and an attention-craving terrier. Occasionally, she ventures outside her home in West Michigan to play in her flower garden, visit the local breweries, and eat gluttonous amounts of sushi.

Learn More at https://www.dkpwriter.com/indie-reads-aloud-podcast

A narrative of cultural translation, identity, and belonging.

The thrill of a new place fades quickly for Caroline Topperman when she moves from Vancouver to Poland in 2013. As she delves into her family’s history, tracing their migration through pre-WWII Poland, Afghanistan, Soviet Russia and beyond, she discovers the layers of their complex experiences mirror some of what she felt as she adapted to life in a new country. How does one balance honoring both one’s origins and new surroundings?

  Your Roots Cast a Shadow explores where personal history intersects with global events to shape a family’s identity. From the bustling markets of Baghdad to the quiet streets of Stockholm, Topperman navigates the murky waters of history as she toggles between present and past, investigating the relationship between migration, politics, identity, and home. Her family stories bring history into the present as her paternal grandmother becomes the first woman allowed to buy groceries at her local Afghan market while her husband is tasked with building the road from Kabul to Jalalabad. Topperman’s Jewish grandfather, a rising star in the Communist Party, flees Poland at the start of WWII one step ahead of the Nazis, returning later only to be rejected by the Party for his Jewish faith. Topperman herself struggles with new cultural expectations and reconciling with estranged relatives.

 A study in social acceptance, Topperman contends with what one can learn about an adopted culture while trying to retain the familiar, the challenges of learning new languages and traditions even as she examines the responsibilities of migrants to their new culture, as well as that society’s responsibility to them.  

ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Caroline Topperman is a European-Canadian writer, is the author of Tell Me What You See which draws on inspiration from her travels. Her next book explores her family's history in Afghanistan. She lives in a worker's cottage in Toronto, until the urge to move strikes.

Learn More at https://www.dkpwriter.com/indiereadsaloudseasonfour