Today we’d like to introduce you to Desirae Hosley.
Hi Desirae, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstories.
I was born and raised in Cincinnati, Ohio. Known for being the quietest person on the scene, it’s astounding to see such a little lady with such a big voice that packs a powerful punch. Poetry has always been a second hustle for me even while working full-time jobs and raising my daughter. At the age of 36, I am a Spoken Word Artist, Motivational Speaker, Actress, Community Organizer, and Author. I served for AmeriCorps Volunteers of America and my first assignment was with the Urban Appalachian Council (currently known as the Urban Appalachian Community Coalition) in Lower Price Hill. After serving with AmeriCorps is when I decided that I wanted to work with youth and give them another outlet which is writing and performance. That was also the start of my love for the nonprofit world. In addition to my work with UACC, I have collaborated with Community Matters and local teens around creative writing, spoken word expression, and performances. I also serve on the Board of Queens Village Cincinnati/Cradle Cincinnati and Your Store of The Queen City. As the world shifted in 2020 and I lost my job that I assumed would be the jumpstart of my career, I created a community called Social Therapy 2020 where young adults and adults came together to bridge the social gap in this new pandemic world through writing and storytelling. This program started off being as a way to say congratulations to a group of teens I once taught that were graduating and also let people know that I was not doing the same position anymore but it turned out being a creative therapeutic writing community that was struggling with the pandemic and needed someone to talk to. I needed this community as well because even though I felt that everything around me was in turmoil; I was able to have a group of friends that kept me grounded outside of my family.
By the end of 2020, Social Therapy received a grant through ArtWave “Truth and Reconciliation” project grant to continue the work of creatively building a community of not only non-writers that loved being around other writers but creating a space for artists to come and share their gift on the Zoom screen. Even though the pandemic has become something that we have to continue to live in, Zoom has provided a platform that gave me access to still create with people all over the world. I have had the opportunity to reach people from Cincinnati to Detroit to Australia to New York. Social Therapy is still happening beyond 2020 and has had opportunities outside of the Zoom screen, with sponsorships from SPARK Philanthropy, A Picture’s Worth, LLC and Miami University (Ohio) Regionals Languages, Literatures & Writing Program.
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
The road has not been smooth but most definitely worth the ride. The year that turned my life around and made me choose my gift as my career was the year my daughter’s father passed away in 2012. My daughter was two years old and I had to adjust to being a single mother. I knew I had a great support system but nights seemed longer than days and those were the moments I had to choose whether to complain that life was hard or understand that I needed to live this life that was given to me. I betted on myself and when 2020 happen I knew that I had to do the same thing. I had to bet on me. I was not going to let life beat me but I allowed myself to grow in these times. Learning to grieve while smiling became my redemption. I’m not strong because I got through it, I’m strong because I am still here.
Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
I love being an artist, a host, a facilitator, a service leader, and a moderator. I am a spoken word artist who released her first book in 2020 called The Silent Poet Re-Introduced as HUMAN.
I am a Co-Director for Mt. Healthy Alliance Zone 231 where we lead a program called WORDS HAVE POWER in Mt. Healthy High School.
I am the Pones In Public Manager; Pones provides artistic opportunities for community growth by creating engaging new ways for audiences to experience dance and performance art.
I host an Open Mic in Mt. Healthy at Square Mile Coffee Shop.
While also facilitating Social Therapy online and in-person at Tikkun Farm.
I am also a co-director of a spoken word stage play Queen’s Liberation Story. A Queen’s Liberation Story is a play about women/womxn of color finding their voice and reassurance that talking about sex should not be shamed or hidden. While reclaiming power in their sex story.
No matter what I have going on, I keep writing very close to me. Writing is what saved my life and my hope is that no matter where my career lands I get to continue to listen to other people stories and become a sounding board for them to know that they are not alone.
Alright, so to wrap up, is there anything else you’d like to share with us?
I am raising an amazing twelve-year-old daughter who gets to watch her mom on this journey of life and hopefully the seeds I plant on the foundation that my ancestors left for me, will give her the courage to use the greatness that is instilled in her.
Contact Info:
- Instagram: Instagram/iamthesilentpoet ; instagram/socialtherapy20
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/desirae.hosley/
- Twitter: @SilentPoet26
- Other: linktr.ee/SilentPoet26
