Sharon Nyree Williams
Sharon Nyree Williams -- Reality Isn't Poetry (Official)
Reality Isn't Poetry is a poem that examines what homelessness looks like. The sole purpose of the work is to make the homeless visible beyond the statistics that we read, talk, or hear about on the news. Sharon began writing Reality Isn't Poetry while on an immersion trip in Cuernavaca, Mexico. To her surprise writing poetry was an outlet for expressing what she was experiencing in Mexico. In addition, around the same time Sharon was also working on developing a project for the Annual Urban Poverty forum in Seattle. The forum hosts three to four speakers every year on a specific issue around poverty. Sharon has been working with the forum for the past four years in developing the 15 minute entertainment piece of the program. In preparation of the forum, Sharon decided to revise Reality Isn't Poetry. Sharon took what she saw and learned in Mexico and combined it with what she see and know about homelessness in the United States of America.
In being immersed in the culture of Mexico, Sharon and her colleagues had to attend Morning Prayer daily with the Sisters. One morning Sharon had to read the Canticle and she came across the phrase "Reality Isn't Poetry". Sharon didn't understand what it was saying at first, but after replaying it back in her head repeatedly she finally took to what she felt it meant. At that moment Reality Isn't Poetry was born.
Sharon was able to go on the immersion trip due to a program at Seattle University that allowed staff and students to participate. The Mission & Ministry Department was one of Sharon's sponsors along with the College of Nursing in which Sharon was the Manager of Budget and Operations at the time.
Reality Isn't Poetry is one of the tracks on Sharon's upcoming freshman poetry cd HUMANITY. The majority of the tracks that will be on the cd speaks to homelessness, however Sharon tossed in a couple of pieces that she thought would be interesting as part of the body of work. Sharon will tell you she's not a poet but sometimes she gets the urge to write poetry. But she does believe that we can change the world one story at a time.
Official video for Sharon Nyree Williams' "Reality Isn't Poetry" brought to you by The Mahogany Project. Video Directed by Alen Blake, Vocal Performance Directed by Felicia V. Loud, Composer Jhauvon Harrison, and Music Mix Jim Roff
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