PODCAST:

Ebony Walden is holding an event to talk about her new memoir called “Where I’m From: A Poetic Journey Across Five Continents,” which she will read from at New Dominion Bookshop Friday, September 11, 7 to 8 p.m.

TRANSCRIPT:

Dana Douglas:

You are listening to WTJU Charlottesville. For Arts this Week, we spoke with Ebony Walden about her new memoir called “Where I’m From: A Poetic Journey Across Five Continents,” which she will read from at New Dominion Bookshop Friday, September 11, 7 to 8 p.m.

Ebony Walden:  

My name is Ebony Walden. I have a memoir about my 2010 around the world trip that I actually took from Charlottesville. I move through 15 countries across five continents. I volunteer. I sightsee. I write these quote-unquote “Where I’m From” poems with people around the world. So, Where I’m From is like a script poem, seven lines, kind of, like, MadLib-ish. And when I meet people I connect with, I do this poem with them. So you get the 15 countries, you get me across five continents. So it’ll be a little bit of a reading, a little bit of poetry, a little bit of storytelling. I hope to, in some sense, with my words, take you all around the world so you get some of the meat of the book. Of course, I’m not going to give it all away, but you will have a little bit of my around the world journey.

Dana Douglas:  

What does it mean to you to come back to the city where you kind of started this whole journey?

Ebony Walden:

So it’s a full circle moment. This is the place I launched my around the world trip. This is the place I came back. This is the place I actually came back to write the work, and so it feels like Charlottesville was a midwife to my work. I’m coming back and showing my baby that has been born and now will be out into the world. So it seems appropriate for me to come, and I have friends there, and my writer friends, and groups and even clients. I’m a consultant now, there, so it’ll be all of my worlds from Charlottesville colliding. So super excited.

Dana Douglas: 

So there will be an audience Q and A at the event. What are you hoping that people will want to talk about or ask you after hearing your reading?

Ebony Walden: 

I hope people are, ask inspiring questions about, what does it mean to have a dream and to actually make it happen? But all manner of personal questions, travel questions, writing questions. But people love the favorites, like what’s your favorite food? What’s the worst experience? The funny experience? You know, people want to know my favorite country. Were you safe? Did you feel scared? Did you have any harrowing experience? You know, people want to get the juice.

Dana Douglas:

What exactly does it feel like to have a place change you, or to let a place change you?

Ebony Walden:

My whole goal for my around the world trip was to be present, to like just take it all in while I was there and capture. I have journals, a blog, and pictures, and to capture as much as I can, so it felt like I was honored to be engaging with these people in these places, and they are teaching me what it is like to live in their culture and what it is like to be human.

Dana Douglas:

Why exactly do you think that a Charlottesville audience, in particular, will connect with your story?

Ebony Walden:  

I think it’s a good combination of coming of age, spiritual lessons. You’ll get to travel with me around the world through poems and pictures and stories and art. And I think most of all, it will exhibit the power of art to really transform people. I used to host open mics in Charlottesville, so I know the power of standing up and being confident, or standing up and being shaky, and standing in your story and sharing that. So I think people will enjoy that. On some level, I’m coming home. People will enjoy that. You know, ‘I knew Ebony from X, Y, and Z.’ I think people who don’t know me will enjoy a good story. I’m interesting and dynamic, and get the audience involved. So it’ll be a really good hour. You’re gonna learn something. You’re gonna be changed. And even if you don’t take home a book, I can’t imagine you’re gonna leave that place and not be inspired. You can find out more about the book, more about the journey on my website www.ebonywalden.com.

Dana Douglas:

For those listening, you can hear more of Ebony Walden at New Dominion Bookshop on Friday, September 11, 7 to 8 p.m. More information can be found at ndbookshop.com and www.ebonywalden.com. Arts this Week is supported by the UVA Arts Council and Piedmont Virginia Community College. PVCC Arts presents a rich array of dance, music, theater, and visual arts programming. Learn more at pvcc.edu. For WTJU, this is Dana Douglas.