three years of blood, sweat, fire, heart, and LIVING have gone into this book- plunging into the wildernesses of love, spirituality, addiction, sex, shamanism, mental health struggles, self-love, and rebirth. queens, NYC native poet AUDREY DIMOLA keeps the fires lit with her third collection of poetry and prose, WILDLIGHT. to all those who reclaim their spirits from darkness-
who resolve to protect the body as an altar, and keep the fire safe-
know there is an energy of resilience that unites us all.
we may have to fight everyday- but we never fight alone.
this is a book about reclamation.
it is a book about struggles with honesty, with identity. about all-consuming loves- passion, destruction, regeneration. about leaving and returning. about lack of self-love and self-worth. about mental illness and addictions. about the indomitable power of the human spirit. about reasons to live. about what happens when you break away from the life you thought you wanted- to walk into the wild. to be taught in ways only the universe can truly teach you- with blood, with sweat. with grief, and wonder. with fire. with heart.
it is a book about trying and trying and trying again...
crack the spine of this book and the author will know it. this is an alchemical document- rubbed with earth, singed with flame. found curled inside the inmost core of an animal, fanged and feathered. each word a bone picked from an endless desert, blessed with tears and triumph from the road. WILDLIGHT was written from 2015 to 2018 by a shamanic poet and journeywoman who is most often likened to wildfire or supernova- this third collection of poetry and prose an act of sacred invocation that will keep howling at you even when its pages are closed.
THE POET IS UNAFRAID TO BECOME FULL WILDERNESS. audreydimola.com/books/wildlight
About the Author: Celebrated for her dynamic presence on stage and on the page, Queens, NYC native Audrey Dimola is a poet, performer, curator, local arts advocate, community organizer, and lifelong artist. Audrey is particularly interested in CREATIVITY, COMMUNITY & COLLABORATION; artistic experimentation and improv between genres and disciplines; the intersections of shamanism, ritual, and free expression; advocating for mental health awareness; holding safe and generative space; and returning to our truest and most wild selves through native spirituality and a deeper relationship with the natural world. A crusader for culture in her hometown borough for over a decade, Audrey has been widely recognized for her work in its artistic/literary communities by presenting a unique circuit of events and creative opportunities, including: a popular series of fireside reading and live writing events exploring the "Nature of the Muse," the borough's first ever Queens Literary Town Hall, and the sold-out multidisciplinary show "HOW WE CREATE & HOW WE COPE: intersections of art and mental health/mental illness" at Queens Council on the Arts. Audrey is the author of three poetry & prose collections, "Decisions We Make While We Dream" (2012), "TRAVERSALS" (2014), and the latest "WILDLIGHT" (2018), and is creator of the Compass Project, a guerrilla poetry sticker initiative that has traveled across the globe spreading positivity. She was also the featured poet in Gillette Venus' highly impactful global #UseYourAnd campaign, which garnered over 21 million views during its run. She has been featured on NY1 TV, Queens Public TV, and in many local publications/media, has curated shows for LaGuardia Performing Arts Center, Historic House Trust, and Queens Museum, and performed at venues around NYC including Queens Library, Bowery Poetry Club, Brooklyn Museum, and the NYC Poetry Festival. Her work has been published in print and online, and her powerful multimedia art installations have been exhibited in LIC galleries. In addition to planning and executing a diverse range of free public programs for Socrates Sculpture Park, Audrey speaks at conferences, festivals, and schools from elementary to college; holds and facilitates safe space for ceremony and the arts; and continues to actively perform and curate independently. She can usually be found: writing on everything, riding her bike, climbing trees, pushing the edges of reality... And of course, stoking the flames. audreydimola.com
