Poet's Return - The Poetry Podcast

Mental health is still a widely stigmatized topic everywhere, and knowing you are not alone and that help is available to you is more important than ever. This week’s episode “Taking Your Power Back” features poet and creative, Megan Turoci, a writer, actress, and advocate for the mental health community. Megan delves into her personal experiences and the stories that have formed her, while speaking on her own journey to share that story in the hope of helping others in similar times of loneliness, struggle, and despair. Her online platform “We’re All a Little Mad” gives others a safe space to find connections, feel supported, while also giving Megan a place to share her words and stories with the world. Today Megan shares three poems, titled:

1) What is Love

2) The Precipice of Love

3) Never Alone

The third one she and I discuss and were interested in eventually visualizing as it has absolutely dynamic imagery just begging to be seen. Megan’s website wereallalittlemad.com has an amazing mission statement with positivity and merchandise that’s not only filled with encouragement and empowerment, but is also trendy and fun to wear!

Megan’s writing can be found on her website as well as her instagram @wereallalittlemad

@poetsreturn Poetry Podcast bringing you the best storytellers you haven’t heard from

Original music by tbc.records “This Feeling” with DeShawn Cavanaugh, Ravel Ward and Christopher Schuchert @tbc.records 

Cocoa Rigal is a multifaceted, multitalented artist living in downtown Los Angeles. She works with many mediums including animation, video game creation, set design, costume design, acting, poetry, music, and more. She is a crafty and resourceful talent to have on set, behind the scenes, and in front of the camera. Today we delve into her process, and creative ideology while also learning a bit more about her improv-based poetry album, "The Myst: Wisdom of the Serpent" and how it came to be. We give you a sneak peek by featuring two of the tracks on today's episode:

1) Reality 101

2) Far Beyond Myths

@cocoarigal

Original music by @luckybeaches

@poetsreturn

@capnbooey

***Hello Poet's Return listeners! We hope you're staying inside and staying afloat during these COVID-19 times. We're releasing some extra content during this time of isolation and semi-hiatus, and we'll be sharing some teasers for season two with you on our social media pages! We know that times are tough, but if you're able to donate in any way, please go to our page on Apple Podcasts, or see the link to our Anchor profile on our instagram @poetsreturn. Any donations, subscriptions, likes, or reviews will help us to also stay afloat for you during this crisis! Our listeners are most important and we want to keep sharing artists and their stories with you :) Now, for the fun stuff...

We're back with Daniel Botello for Part Two of the Proof is in the Process. Daniel shares two more of his poems as we talk more about process, writing styles, and differences in how writers edit. (Host Melissa and Daniel both agree you need a good friend/mentor to help you edit things, or you'll never get anywhere.) The first poem Daniel shares today, he wrote a few months back, titled:

1) Bad Sagittarius 

Host Melissa Booey (like many listeners probably will be) was deeply affected by the themes in this one, highlighting how timing can affect everything, and even if you love someone sometimes you can never quite make the connection work. It just misses. 

The second poem he shares is one that he wrote some years back. Tell us if you agree with Melissa that this poem is perfect just the way it is, and it needs no further editing!

2) Love like Jazz

Daniel is a romantic by nature, and he discusses  the excitement of falling in love and the electricity of feeling that attraction to someone and not yet knowing if they reciprocate. 

"With love it’s like jazz, it never really resolves."

@danielbotello

@poetsreturn

@capnbooey

Original music by RJ Wayne, Ron Johnson aka PHILASIFER. "That Magic" featuring Otis Johnson. 

During our last installment of the miniseries featuring playwright, poet, and novelist Conor Turoci, we give you a sneak peek into the play "At the Edge of the Wilderness," a play that Conor and host Melissa Booey have been working on for years. We discuss emotional resilience, the power of story, and how specificity is crucial to creating strong characters and conflicts.

**During this time of COVID-19, we ask that you help us keep everyone safe and healthy, by practicing social distancing. We know it doesn't make collaboration or community easy, along with all the other very urgent and real-life obstacles happening right now, but we can all find ways to work together during these adversities. Also-just as Conor and Melissa convey by their struggle to finish their onstage western, it's important to FINISH THINGS. Even if the world is in Pandemic!! Don't feel pressured, only feel encouraged in the sense that you are not alone, and there is a community of people ready to support and help you create that story you've been trying to tell.

@ronocicorut @capnbooey #playwrights #poetry #podcast #poets #collaborate @poetsreturn

At the Edge of the Wilderness is  property of Conor Turoci and Melissa Booey

Original Music "Depths of the Mind" by Richard Martinez

**SNEAK PEEK INTO MUSICAL PROJECT UPCOMING: "PSYCHOACTIVE BOOEY" AN ALBUM WRITTEN, NARRATED AND MUSICALLY CURATED by Anarchist Pirates

During our last installment of the miniseries featuring playwright, poet, and novelist Conor Turoci, we give you a sneak peek into the play "At the Edge of the Wilderness," a play that Conor and host Melissa Booey have been working on for years. We discuss emotional resilience, the power of story, and how specificity is crucial to creating strong characters and conflicts. 

**During this time of COVID-19, we ask that you help us keep everyone safe and healthy, by practicing social distancing. We know it doesn't make collaboration or community easy, along with all the other very urgent and real-life obstacles happening right now, but we can all find ways to work together during these adversities. Also-just as Conor and Melissa convey by their struggle to finish their onstage western, it's important to FINISH THINGS. Even if the world is in Pandemic!! Don't feel pressured, only feel encouraged in the sense that you are not alone, and there is a community of people ready to support and help you create that story you've been trying to tell.

@ronocicorut @capnbooey #playwrights #poetry #podcast #poets #collaborate @poetsreturn

At the Edge of the Wilderness is  property of Conor Turoci and Melissa Booey

Original Music "Depths of the Mind" by Richard Martinez 

**SNEAK PEEK INTO MUSICAL PROJECT UPCOMING: "PSYCHOACTIVE BOOEY" AN ALBUM WRITTEN, NARRATED AND MUSICALLY CURATED  

Alicia Beck is a Los Angeles film actress with a background in stage and musical theater. Throughout her past six years performing and creating locally, Alicia has also cultivated her love of writing and sharing poetry. Her poems are filled with heartbreak and hope, time and people lost, gained and remembered along with all the in betweens. Her grippingly visceral words are visualizations in and of themselves, as we're transported through our own former experiences and future potential as listeners. Her poetry can be found on her own social media @aliciareneebeck, as well as on her own poetry page @thewindandtheshadows. She recites the four following pieces featured on today's episode:

1) (The first, and final pieces are untitled)

2) "This Version of Me and You"

3) "Living in the Box"

@aliciareneebeck

@thewindandtheshadows

@poetsreturn

Hosted by Melissa Booey @capnbooey

Original track featured today is titled "Patagonia" by musical artist Lukapotamus

***All original poetry and music copyright of the artists who share them, and all rights reserved by the Poet's Return Podcast property of Melissa Booey 

"At the Edge of the Wilderness" is a four act onstage western Conor and I have been writing since 2013. In this episode, we discuss the power of persevering when you have the right person to collaborate with, (even if you've been writing this play for 7 years, now). We discuss how crucial it is throughout an artist's journey finding artistic community regardless of size; these communes may change as we do, and as a result, our art evolves through our most vulnerable and formative moments. 

@poetsreturn

@ronocicorut

@capnbooey

Original music by Lukapotamus 

We're switching gears a little this week, with Part One of a three-part release of Minisodes featuring Conor Turoci. Conor is a versatile writer, delving into such forms as playwriting, screenwriting, short story, essay, poetry and full form novel. In this small featured mini series of episodes, Conor and I discuss the ins and outs of writing process, how it evolves, and how to balance the highs and lows of inspiration and consistency. Today we focus on writing every day, knowing that sometimes inspiration isn't enough, and that effort, time and belief will change and fluctuate within our journeys as writers. Ultimately, amid the highs and lows of the craft, the most important thing you can do as a storyteller? Just finish it.

@ronocicorut 

@poetsreturn

@capnbooey

Original music by Lukapotomas "RDWCTHTGV" or "Robots don't use Condoms (that's how they get viruses)"

Tomorrow Part Two of this Minisode series will be released, featuring more in depth conversation, self-deprecation and technical analysis with the intellectual and worldly Conor Turoci.