In Volume Seven: Chapter Fourteen of the Program, we welcome Milwaukee, Wisconsin-born and based Poet, Author, Community Activist, and the 14th Poet Laureate for the City of Milwaukee, Shelly Conley. A seven-time member of Milwaukee’s National Poetry Slam Team, she serves as Program Director of My Sista’s KeepHer and is the author of Rewind: A Cathartic Autobiography.

In our conversation, we travel through Shelly’s creative history, beginning with journaling at nine years old, her early love of hip-hop, and eventually discovering poetry in middle school. We revisit the year she spent attending Dasha Kelly’s open mic at the old Mecca Nightclub before finally finding the courage to step on stage herself, and how that experience changed her relationship with poetry and taught her the power of sharing our words with others.

We discuss how Shelly has carried that lesson into her work today, from creating a space for emerging writers through The Writers Hive Poetry Open Mic to helping young women explore their emotions, experiences, and voices through My Sista’s KeepHer.

Shelly also opens up about her once-complicated relationship with her mother, the role writing played in their healing, and their decision to tell that story together through their book project, Writing It Together.

Finally, we discuss the journey that led Shelly to becoming Milwaukee’s 14th Poet Laureate, the surprise of learning she had been selected, and an incredible full-circle moment: years after finding the courage to share her poetry at an open mic created by Dasha Kelly, Shelly would eventually succeed her as Poet Laureate.

From a nine-year-old writing privately in a journal to helping others discover the power of their own words, Shelly’s story is one of finding your voice, having the courage to share it, and eventually creating space for others to find theirs.

Contact Shelly:
Instagram: @poeticworkinprogress Website: shellyconley.com

Recorded Spoken Word Performances Featured Include:

Aleah Bradshaw – Questions
Instagram: @nyfe

Lyrical Faith – Bilingual
Instagram: @lyricalfaithpoetry

Jahman Hill– Cash Me Outside
Instagram: @jahman_rondo Website: jahmanhill.com

Shelly Conley – 2am Free Write
Instagram: @poeticworkinprogress Website: shellyconley.com

Natasha Ria El-Scari – The Secret Society of Black Mothers
Instagram: @natasharia Website: natasharia.com

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