Paige Allphin reads a letter to her younger self and discusses her upcoming book: You Are Not Alone: A Book of Prose and Poems

About the Author/Reader/Performer:

Paige is 37 and lives in West Virginia with her husband, 3 cats, and a puppy. When she's not writing poetry and lyrics, she loves to cosplay for conventions.

You can get in touch with Paige on Facebook or Instagram @prodigaldaughter15

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If you are interested in being a featured author, reach out on Instagram @wakingthewhispers, or email me at [email protected]

Credits:

Guest: Paige Allphin

Music by: Solomon Bloomer

Recorded, produced, edited by: Ben Bloomer

Logo and art by: Ben Bloomer

Ben reads poems about his inner experience of ADHD.

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If you are interested in being a featured author, discussing your creative process, or discussing the work of another author on the show and how they inspired you, reach out on Instagram @wakingthewhispers, or email me at [email protected]

Credits:

Music by: Solomon Bloomer

Recorded, produced, edited by: Ben Bloomer

Logo and art by: Ben Bloomer

Solomon Bloomer sings songs about dreams, depression, and the pain of depression's effect on dreams and creativity. Solomon discusses his creative process and Ben finds an even deeper appreciation of Solomon's creative depth.

About the Author:

Solomon is a musician, song-writer, story-teller, and expresser of the deeply connected webs that make up his imagination and self. He's hilarious, generous, gentle, kind, strong, resilient, and full of infectious life.

You can find Solomon on TikTok @SleepySolomon and can listen to his D&D Podcast, Realm of Magic

If you are interested in being a featured author, reach out on Instagram @wakingthewhispers, or email me at [email protected]

Credits:

Guest: Solomon Bloomer

Music by: Solomon Bloomer

Recorded, produced, edited by: Solomon Bloomer's Brother Ben

Logo and art by: Solomon Bloomer's Brother Ben

Tommy-Jay sings about the complexities of living in the midst of ICE raids in his beloved city.

About the Author:

Tommy-Jay Whiting is a Chicago-based singer/songwriter in the ilk of other folk Americana acts such as Jim Croce, Daniel Johnston, Dave van Ronk, and Nick Drake. When not daydreaming and falling in love with the world one person at a time through music and poetry, he’s probably in a library or exploring Chicago's secret gardens.

You can find Tommy-Jay on Tiktok and Instagram (@tommyjwhiting Tiktok, @tommyj.whiting Instagram)

If you are interested in being a featured author, reach out on Instagram @wakingthewhispers, or email me at [email protected]

Credits:

Guest: Tommy-Jay Whiting

Recorded, produced, edited by: Ben Bloomer

Music by: Solomon Bloomer

Logo and art by: Ben Bloomer

Ben reads a couple Christmas themed writings because he ran out of time to publish a proper episode. Happy holidays.

If you want to be featured, reach out to @wakingthewhispers on instagram

Mercedes reads her poem about child abuse and the failures of churches to protect children

Trigger warning: Child sexual abuse

About the Author:

Mercedes is Ben's older sister and loves her family and her crows. She is beautiful and delightful always there for her siblings.

About the Thumbnail:

Mercedes and Ben being adorable kids, worth protecting

If you are interested in being a featured author, reach out on Instagram @wakingthewhispers, or email me at [email protected]

Credits:

Guest: Mercedes

Recorded, produced, edited by: Ben Bloomer

Music by: Solomon Bloomer

Logo and art by: Ben Bloomer

Ben talks too long about attachment theory and reads poems about his divorce. Cheers.

Curious about attachment theory? Check out Heidi Priebe's channel on youtube

About the Author:

Ben is a kind of silly human who recently discovered that he likes poetry and art. He also has a podcast, if you can believe it. I'd list his hobbies, but he has ADHD, so he has a new hobby every week or two.

If you are interested in being a featured author, reach out on Instagram @wakingthewhispers, or email me at [email protected]

Credits:

Guest (?): Ben Bloomer

Recorded, produced, edited by: Ben Bloomer

Music by: Solomon Bloomer

Logo and art by: Ben Bloomer

Mars Gomez shares a poignant metaphor drawing inspiration from the dogs inside us.

About the Author:

Mars lives in Normal, IL and is passionate about storytelling. They love to draw and work on creative writing while sipping tea and playing D&D with friends.

See some of Mars' art on their instagram @marssumii

You can listen to their D&D Podcast on Spotify here

Credits:

Guest: Mars Gomez

Recorded, produced, edited by: Ben Bloomer

Music by: Solomon Bloomer

Logo and art by: Ben Bloomer

If you are interested in being a featured author, reach out on Instagram @wakingthewhispers, or email me at [email protected]

The magic of artistic independence, fighting to keep your voice-- Ariel Bloomer shares her essay and we discuss how hard it is to share cheesecake.

About the Author:

Ariel Bloomer is the lead singer and lyricist of Icon for Hire, a rock band based in Nashville. She's obsessed with the creative process and inspiration, and using her voice to empower others to face their mental health challenges with courage and self love. Also a wonderful big sister.

Get in touch with Ariel on Instagram:  @iconforhire

Check out their full page on Spotify

Or jump to Ben's favorite songs:

Venom; Shadow

Credits:

Guest: Ariel Bloomer

Recorded, produced, edited by: Ben Bloomer

Music by: Solomon Bloomer

Logo and art by: Ben Bloomer

If you are interested in being a featured author, reach out on Instagram @wakingthewhispers, or email me at [email protected]

Transfixed around the fire, transcendent moments in community. Chris Easley and I discuss the ways that poetry and community captures us.

About the Author:

Chris Easley is Team Leader at Mission Central, a ministry based in Aurora, Illinois dedicated to forming Christians for mission in everyday life. When he’s not writing poetry, you'll find Chris reading a time travel novel or cooking dinner with his wife Katie and their three cats.

Get in touch with Chris:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/christophereasley/

IG: @teammissioncentral

FB: @TeamMissionCentral

Credits:

Guest: Chris Easley

Recorded, produced, edited by: Ben Bloomer

Music by: Solomon Bloomer

Logo and art by: Ben Bloomer

If you are interested in being a featured author, reach out on Instagram @wakingthewhispers, or email me at [email protected]