Buddah Desmond’s New Poetry Collection, Coming Up From the Downside: Finding Joy in Our Song, is Out Now!

Posted on March 8, 2024 by BuddahDesmond611

The celebration continues! Happy to announce that my latest poetry collection, Coming Up From the Downside: Finding Joy in Our Song, is out now!

Coming Up From the Downside is about adversity, healing, resilience, and faith. It’s about overcoming pain, loss, depression, health issues, and heartbreak to get to real love and the joy that sustains us through it all. It’s the third and final book in what I’m calling “The Home Within” trilogy, which was preceded by 2020’s From The Inside Out: A Poetry Collection and 2023’s Everything I Miss(ed) At Home.

The vast majority of the poems in this book were written in the thick of the pandemic. One of the bleakest periods that completely changed my life, and the lives of so many others. It was a season that kept giving lesson after lesson after lesson in the midst of getting up from the downside.

Coming Up From the Downside was published by Liquid Cat Publishing. The cover was designed Black Author Brand. Extremely grateful to my publisher’s team and the Black Author Brand team for their love, support, encouragement, guidance, and great work throughout this process!

And thank you so much for all who’ve supported me along the way. Words aren’t enough to express my gratitude.

Coming Up From the Downside: Finding Joy in Our Song is available for purchase at Amazon. Get into it!

Much Love + Many Blessings! ~ Buddah Desmond

Buddah Desmond’s Poetry featured in SOUL Issue Ten

Posted on April 24, 2023 by BuddahDesmond611

Excited to announce that six of my poems were recently published in the literary magazine, SOUL Issue Ten. The poems featured in SOUL are entitled, “We Are Art,” “So Rich,” “Everything But…,” “Cold In The Afterglow (It Ain’t Love),” “Lingering,” and “Masters Of The Fire.”

SOUL (Say on Universal Languages) was created by writer, poet, editor, and journalist Candis Johnson. So many dope, talented writers and creatives are featured in this issue of SOUL, so be sure to check it out.

Much gratitude and praise to Candis for creating this platform and affording us the opportunity to share our gifts with the world.

To purchase your copy of SOUL Issue Ten, please go to: www.lulu.com/spotlight/freedomwryter21.

Buddah Desmond, A Featured Poet on Vocal Expressions for National Poetry Month 2023

Posted on April 3, 2023 by BuddahDesmond611

I’m happy to announce that I’m a featured poet during Nation Poetry Month 2023 on author Dee Lawrence’s blog Vocal Expressions. The feature includes an interview and two poems, “The Words We Used To Say” and “BLACK NATION.”

Much gratitude and appreciation to Dee Lawrence for providing this opportunity, along with a platform for highlighting poets during one of our favorite months of the year. To learn more about Dee Lawrence, go to Vocal Expressions or check her out on IG.

Buddah Desmond’s Poetry Featured in Liquid Cat Quarterly, Volume 1

Posted on February 28, 2023 by BuddahDesmond611

I’m happy to announce that two of my poems, “A Song From You (Forever Changed)” and “Version Control” are featured in Liquid Cat Quarterly, Volume 1. This is the first literary journal released by my publisher, Liquid Cat Books. It’s a dope collection of original poetry, art, and other inspiring pieces by some phenomenal writers and creatives. Much appreciation and praise to the Liquid Cat Books team for allowing us to share our voices in this awesome journal.

Liquid Cat Quarterly, Volume 1 is available on the Liquid Cat Books site (ebook | print) and on Amazon.

Buddah Desmond, A Featured Poet for National Poetry Month on Vocal Expressions

Posted on April 15, 2022 by BuddahDesmond611

Elated to share that I was recently a featured poet on author Dee Lawrence’s blog Vocal Expressions. The feature includes an interview and two poems, “When Freedom Called (The Fallout)” and “The Music of Life.”

Much gratitude and appreciation to Dee Lawrence for providing this platform and highlighting poets during one of our favorite months of the year. To learn more about Dee Lawrence, go to her blog Vocal Expressions or check her out on IG.

~ Buddah Desmond

Prevail: Happy 7th Anniversary!

Posted on July 6, 2019 by BuddahDesmond611

I cannot believe it’s been 7 years since the release of my first project, Prevail: Poems on Life, Love, and Politics. It’s arrival marked one of the brightest and darkest periods of my life.

Two weeks prior to its release, I found myself jobless. A total WTF moment that sent me reeling… Spiraling down. I was singing a tune that was akin to the jazz standard “Good Morning Heartache,” except in this case it was “Good Morning / Good Afternoon / Good Night Depression, Anxiety, Shame, Low Self-Esteem, and Lack of Confidence.” It took awhile to grow through it. While I didn’t realize it immediately, it proved to be a blessing in disguise.

This reality check gave me the chance to do things I always wanted to do. Publish my work. Write, write, and write some more. Perform. Connect and work with other artists, creatives, and organizations committed to the arts and social justice. Complete my MBA. I did what I had to do. About a year or so later, the landscape had changed. My outlook was much brighter.

Life is a trip. At times, you may feel ill equipped for the journey. You may even hate certain portions of the journey. But it’s necessary. It lays the foundation for what’s too come. As I say, “No matter what happens in life, we must PREVAIL!“ Much love and gratitude to all who’ve been there with me and continue to support me throughout this journey. You are true blessings!

Prevail is available at Amazon (Paperback | Hardcover | Kindle) and Barnes & Noble.

The Power Of Your Voice

Posted on November 6, 2012 by BuddahDesmond611

My partner and I got up early this morning so we could get to our polling station before it opened (at 6 AM). It was very good thinking on our part considering how long the line was, even at 5:50 AM. But seeing the line of people this early was a beaming sign. It meant people were not going to be swayed in any way. They were going to let their voices be heard. The cold—even with the temperature below freezing—was no deterrent either. That’s because the cause was/is worth it.

The cause is worth it because my ancestors fought too long and too hard for all of us to be able to vote. They knew the power of the voice and that we’d only falter if we remained silent. They recognized the importance of the collective…and that if we all had the chance to vote that we could collectively change our world for the better. My ancestors died so that we could we could be free and live in a world where equality and justice reign supreme. Therefore I don’t take any of it vain.

I also don’t take it lightly the (ongoing) issue of voter suppression and oppression throughout this country. There’s too much at stake for any of us to be cast aside or denied our right to exercise our political voice. And after being in a long line of voters today and seeing the long lines of people voting early in days prior, I know that this right—this precious right—is something we all (should) hold dear. As someone said exiting the polling station this morning, “You’ve got to show up in order to show out.” And I’m so pleased, so happy, so grateful that people across this country have/are doing just that.

Never think that you don’t matter or that you don’t count. Because you do. If you feel you aren’t being represented well or at all, you have the right to voice your concerns and act accordingly. If we fail to act or we don’t exercise our rights, then we’re giving in. We’re signing off and are just as accountable as the parties in office. Or as many will say—if we don’t vote, we don’t have a voice. Remember, you and your voice are worth more than they’ll ever admit. Why else do you think they up the ante on tactics to scare us away from the polls (especially during Presidential Elections)?

I don’t care what scare tactics they use. I wouldn’t care if it was subzero or 100+ degrees outside this morning. If I had to stand in line all day today to vote, I would do it. I recognize the power of my voice and power of my vote. And I’m glad to see that so many of my fellow Americans do too.

Alice Walker’s "Democratic Womanism"

Posted on October 22, 2012 by BuddahDesmond611

Image courtesy of the New York Daily News site.

I want to vote and work for a way of life
that honors the feminine;
a way that acknowledges
the theft of the wisdom
female and dark Mother leadership
might have provided our spaceship
all along.
I am not thinking
of a talking head
kind of gal:
happy to be mixing
it up
with the baddest
bad boys
on the planet
her eyes a slit
her mouth a zipper.
No, I am speaking of true
regime change.
Where women rise
to take their place
en masse
at the helm
of earth’s frail and failing ship…
~ Alice Walker, “Democratic Womanism,” 2012

During an interview with Amy Goodman on Democracy Now, writer and activist Alice Walker recited her poem “Democratic Womanism,” written in honor of the late Kenyan Nobel Peace Prize laureate Wangari Maathai.” In this poem, she challenges us to rethink the current practices of our leadership and to question the effectiveness of a political system that has only let its people down, and has led to the further destruction of life and the well-being of the planet. “Democratic Womanism” encourages us to look towards the wisdom of women, as they have have so expertly led, managed, and taken care of all aspects life and the planet. By doing so, we ultimately have a chance to change the course of life and our world.

What does Walker’s “Democratic Womanism” mean to you? What is its relevance in relation to the 2012 election?

Day 84: Inspiration from Toni Morrison

Posted on August 17, 2012 by BuddahDesmond611

Image courtesy of the Anisfield-Wolf Book Awards site.

People say to write about what you know… I’m here to tell you, no one wants to read that, ’cause you don’t know anything… So write about something you don’t know. And don’t be scared, ever. ~ Toni Morrison, USA Today

We find comfort in writing about the things we are most comfortable with—those things we find most familiar. While there’s nothing wrong with it, one has to wonder—where’s the challenge? Where’s the risk? In the long term, what’s the growth potential for you as a writer? What will the audience truly learn or gain from you in the process?

It’s so easy to get caught up into the formulas for writing, especially if they’ve brought you a fair amount of success. It’s safer that way, isn’t it? But as creative individuals—we thrive when we’re challenged. We thrive when we’re put to the test. We thrive when we let go of our inhibitions, take on the unknown, and, without over-thinking, simply create that which fuels our souls.

You learn more about yourself, others, and the world when you step outside of the realm you call home. Get unsafe. Move beyond the known. Embrace the unknown. Be inspired by the unknown. There’s no telling what magnificence may come about.

Buddah Desmond

Author of Prevail: Poems on Life, Love, and Politics

Category Archives: Purpose