Poetz Portal, a local, six-member poetry collective, has just published its first anthology, titled, Portal to the Poet Within.
The organization was founded in 2023 by Jessica Sorya, TehilaYah Ysryal, Breanna C. Johnson, Riley McPheters, Bryan Utesch and Ketu Oladuwa and works tirelessly to make inroads in the creative community by hosting readings, workshops, poetry circles.
Most recently, the Poetz hosted a Poetry Phest at the Allen County Public Library's Downtown branch focused on engaging the area youth.
In celebration of National Poetry Month, WBOI’s Julia Meek sat down with Jessica and TehilaYah to discuss the anthology, and the community connections being made through the power of the spoken word.
Connect with the Kollektiv and learn more at the Poetz Portal Facebook page.
Find ordering information for Portal to the Poet Within here.
Below is a transcript of their conversation:
Julia Meek: Jessica Sorya, TehilaYah Ysrayl welcome.
TehilaYah Ysrayl: Thank you.
Jessica Sorya: Thank you, Julia, for having us.
Julia Meek: Now, you poets have been collectively portaling since 2023; your momentum is accelerating, now a collective anthology, in a word, what does this all feel like right now?
TehilaYah Ysrayl Exciting, so exciting.
Jessica Sorya: Yes. Grateful. There's a gratitude, deep, deep gratitude.
Julia Meek: Is it safe to say that these feelings and passions that you have are nicely reflected in this anthology?
TehilaYah Ysrayl: Oh, yes. 100%--we put our heart and soul into this thing, so 100%. You'll see who we actually are through reading it, yes.
Julia Meek: Perfect. And you are not only getting the word out about your group and its purpose, you have been busy.
You're poeting as you build this whole collective. Besides your new anthology, what projects have you added in this last short year?
Jessica Sorya: Well, first Tuesday of every month we do poetry circles. We have been doing those on zoom so that people can join near and far.
We just had a collaboration with the Allen County Public Library downtown for Poetz Portal Poetry Phest last Sunday. That was in collaboration with Hyde Brothers Booksellers and Scott Sprunger with Poetry on the Spot.
We also went to Snider High School recently and did a gathering with the students there that are part of the Peace Club.
Julia Meek: You've certainly been busy.
Jessica Sorya: Oh yeah.
Julia Meek: Very impressive and shows the collectivity of your group. Now no stone or platform left unturned, it seems.
So, how is this all working as regards putting down poeting roots for yourself, but also for those that you're connecting with?
TehilaYah Ysrayl: It's working because we're reaching out to community, we're building relationships.
We're getting to know a lot more poets that are within the city that have just something to say, and so that's important for us.
It's more important for us to build relationships than it is to actually throw a huge event, right? And being able to support those that are out there who are doing the poetry.
Julia Meek: Also facing the facts, so many collectives or gatherings of poets, the main point is sharing their own stuff and pushing through their own stuff. That's where you're different.
Not that you don't push your stuff, but you push every single person's word. Does that get in the way or truly empower your own word as well as the work that you're doing.
Jessica Sorya: I think it inspires and encourages us. When we gather with community, it's always in a circle, so it's mostly about connection and letting everyone's voice in the room be heard.
And I think uplifting others' voices also encourages us to honor our own voice too. It just gives us time to reflect upon the stories that we hear and the parts of ourselves that we see within other stories.
Julia Meek: Certainly makes sense. Now about your publishing adventure, it's everyone's dream, and it's easier said than done. [chuckles]
So just how did you decide what was needed, once you jumped into this project, as well as delegate the doing? Who did what?
TehilaYah Ysrayl: Oh, we just clicked, really, when we came up with the idea, it was, hey, let's do an anthology. And we were like, Oh yeah, let's do it.
I know how to do this. I have this resource, or I have this resource. And we just knew what to do, and we all fell into place. Like everybody had their own part.
Somebody did the book cover. We had somebody who was working on putting everything together. We had a person who was editing, making sure that we were all good to go.
So, we all kind of just jumped in and did what was needed to get it done.
Julia Meek: Being practical.
TehilaYah Ysrayl: Yeah, yeah.
Julia Meek: Nobody was sitting on the sidelines.
Jessica Sorya: Right, exactly.
Julia Meek: There are no sidelines on a circle of Portal Poetz, right?
Jessica Sorya: And it really wasn't a rush, you know, we took our time and we honored seasons of rest during it. I think, all in all, it took us a year to complete.
It didn't feel rushed. We just honored everyone's part and season, so...it was beautiful, beautiful.
Julia Meek: And everyone’s a working man or woman's poet. So this is a second job, a passion, a love that all goes together.
TehilaYah Ysrayl: Oh yes, 100% we were intentional throughout the entire process.
Julia Meek: And it shows. Now, Portal to the Poet Within is more than a cool title. What does it symbolize to you all?
TehilaYah Ysrayl: I think the idea of Portal to the Poet Within is about finding the poet, right? Finding the voice that you have and having the courage to actually let it out.
Everybody has a voice. Everybody has a sound that needs to be heard. And I think that is what Portal to the Poet Within was, was about.
Julia Meek: It’s rather the premise of your group.
TehilaYah Ysrayl: Oh, it is. It actually came from our principles and our values. It was kind of one of those little tag lines that we had inside of our principles and values that keep our collective moving forward.
Julia Meek: What a fitting use of that tenet and okay, the layout is clever as well. It's pack of poets poeting, you might say. Would you explain how it works through the book.
Jessica Sorya: Yes. So in the beginning of the book, you will see an introduction, and then it will bring you to a somatic element that you can participate in.
And then it flows into Breanna is our first poet. And there are five poems for six poets, and each poet brings their unique voice for each section.
Julia Meek: There's a lovely photograph of each poet, which is special, as well.
TehilaYah Ysrayl: It was important for us to have our photos there. It was important for us to have it in color. Not a lot of times you see things in color within a poetry book, you know. So, we wanted to do something different.
Julia Meek: It's most meaningful. So, doing the math, how does that total add up? Is it more than the sum of its parts, as we always hear, the ideal to be?
TehilaYah Ysrayl: I think that it is. It is more than just poems put together and put inside of a book. Everything there is intentional. Every poet put a poem in there that resonated with them.
And I think that is what is important. And so, our hope is, as our readers go through the book, that it resonates with them as well, and they find the poet within themselves as they're reading, yeah.
Jessica Sorya: Absolutely, yeah. Our intention is that when the reader reads the book, that they are inspired and encouraged to honor their own voice within and truly experience what it's like to share their truth with others.
Julia Meek: And the literal sharing is an act, a ritual in itself, and certainly symbolizes ever so much.
And besides yourselves, we do have Breanna C Johnson, Riley McPheters, Bryan Utesch, and then your mentor, as well as a poet member, Ketu Oladuwa. Put you all together, what kind of magic Do you feel you're making by now?
TehilaYah Ysrayl: I think that we are making a lot of community magic happen. I would say one of the things that we did that was kind of different in the Poetry Phest was we had people there and we said, hey, how can we support you all?
What is it that you need? What would you like to see from Poetz Portal and just getting their feedback?
Julia Meek: And did you get feedback?
TehilaYah Ysrayl: Oh yeah, 100% got feedback. And a lot of the feedback was, hey, youth related. And that is actually what the Poetry Phest was about. It was really geared to the youth.
Julia Meek: How did that make you feel?
Jessica Sorya: Wonderful. I think in the beginning, you know, when we first started forming, it was more of getting our name out there and letting the community know who we are.
And now that we've kind of formed that relationship, we can work on deepening our connection and our roots inside of the community and what they need.
You know, what do you need from us? How can we best support you and show up for you so that you can also show up?
Julia Meek: How thoughtful and how clever and smart. Meanwhile, this collection itself, your anthology, is from the Poetz Portal Press, another milestone.
It has to make you feel good. How does it broaden your capabilities and what does it mean, actually, and especially maybe outside your collective,
Jessica Sorya: Mmmmm, yeah, I am going to say, please stay tuned for more of that, Julia. We have some things in the works, so hoping to bring that to the community.
TehilaYah Ysrayl: Oh yes, most definitely you will see more from Poetz Portal coming through Poetz Portal Press.
Julia Meek: Do keep us posted. And actually, you are in overdrive, it seems, adding these platforms and these workshops and events, virtual connections, which are oh so popular.
What course would you say it has put you on in this last year that you were hoping for? Now you're on it. And then I am asking you to look out in the future, where might it take you going forward?
TehilaYah Ysrayl: Oh, I think that we are on a course towards success. And the success is not for us. Success is for our community.
Julia Meek: That is the poetry community.
TehilaYah Ysrayl: The poetry community, and I think that in the future, you're going to see more of Poetz Portal supporting other poets.
You're going to see more events from us. You're going to see more anthologies, right? And you're probably going to see more of our individual work, because that's something that we're also working on.
Julia Meek: It seems like the 20th century kind of brought a whole new face to the shape of poetry, certainly in the last half, it started being a more youthful, a more action-based thing.
It's always been a self-expression but taking new heights and taking political stands and social stands and activist stands on all kinds of rights.
That's something that has to be in your hearts and in your lives, and it comes through your work. How do you cultivate that?
Jessica Sorya: Well, I think the social media helps a lot for people's voice to be heard.
There's that element, and then also self publishing, just like we were able to do on getting our voice out there and our life experiences and how we are processing everything that's happening in the world and then sharing that with others.
You know, the great thing about poetry is that it makes you slow down enough to process everything that is happening.
And so, I think when everything is feeling overwhelming and disconnected and wild in the world right now, poetry really slows us down and connects us and helps you remember what matters and our shared humanity.
And so, I think that the cool thing about Poetz Portal is that we offer spaces for people to show up and share. Share their reflections, their experiences and to be heard.
Julia Meek: Quite honestly with a medium like that and passion like that, in a situation like that, a more self-absorbed crowd might tend to listen to themselves, wait for their turn, more than get up and be ready to listen to everybody to get into it that way.
Is that ever a problem in your groups? And how do you keep everybody focused on the portal, the collective, the essence of poetry, or do you have to consciously do that?
Jessica Sorya: Us, specifically as a group? No, we meet a lot outside of our events, too, business meetings and also just gatherings as family, just to stay aligned and to remember our purpose and why we're doing what we're doing.
And remembering that it's more about presence and not performance. And I think that's what makes us stand out.
TehilaYah Ysrayl: Yeah, one of the things that Ketu always says it is the poet's job to have the voice in this season and in all seasons. And that it always has been the poet's job to do so.
And so, I think that we keep that in our minds, that in any season that's happening, whether you know there's war over here or war over there, we are going to make sure that we are speaking from within, right?
And we're going to be intentional about what we're saying. Because the poets can always speak the truth.
Julia Meek: They can, and they should. And in your case, you do. You make it happen. And speaking of Ketu and his many wonderful qualities, and it's certainly no surprise, he would be a mentor to such a group as yours.
You do actually have your own language, and it's not like a secret society might be with code words and everything, but poeting is a verb. Portaling, in your case, would be a verb.
How does it feel having new and different words to describe your new and different collective? Where can you take them?
TehilaYah Ysrayl: New and different words? Oh, my goodness, we can take those anywhere. I think that I'm the person in the collective that's always making up words.
Julia Meek: Good for you. [all laugh]
TehilaYah Ysrayl: I'm the person that's like, I don't know if that's a word or not, but we just made that up. But I think that that is, I kinda think that's hard.
Just, I mean, one of the things that I always do is I'm a reader, right? And the more you read, the more words you learn. And I'm that person.
I've turned into what they call a Kindle girly in these days, because I have more books than I have bookshelves. So I like to highlight the word and say, I don't know what that is.
I'm currently reading a book right now that is based in Dublin, and I'm learning their language.
And it's entirely amazing to me to be able to compare the language from Ireland and then the language from the United States of us speaking English. So it's kind of cool. It's interesting.
Jessica Sorya: It is. And something that's coming to me right now is that Ketu will say that language can also be an oppressor. And so lately,
I've really been examining words that we use and breaking them down and finding the root meaning that's become very important, because words, to me, are like spells that we put out there.
You know, so to be intentional with our words and with our language is something very important, because words have a chance to hurt or heal.
And even Ketu, if you've read some of his poetry and work, he has his own language that he writes. It's fun to play around and find meaning and choose carefully.
Julia Meek: Now, statistically, as we've been talking about, the rise of social media and digital publishing is causing a true resurgence in the craft, appreciating it as well as performing it.
So looking forward, and you've been doing a lot of that already, where are you going to be able to take it next? Based on technology and these really grassroots connections you're making in the community,
Jessica Sorya: We're really looking forward to working with the youth. That's something that we are focused on right now with the Peace Academy. And some other things that we have ideas for that we're working on,
Julia Meek: And the peace Academy is successfully in every Fort Wayne Community high school, right now. And that's a bunch of ambassadors that will grow up and turn this whole community around even some more, making that change.
Are they yet understanding? Can they, can you make them understand what a powerful tool the written and then spoken word is?
Jessica Sorya: Yeah, actually, it was quite surprising how responsive they were when we sat with them. The youth are our future.
So yeah, that's where we want to be. Is right alongside them, reminding them and encouraging them that their voice matters to put it out there.
Julia Meek: Can't ask for any more than that. And then, certainly, the rise of social media is all about that kind of connections you might be on the front...
Jessica Sorya: Making a reach.
Julia Meek: Yes, of a wonderful, wonderful trend, and it's pushed forward by social media.
Jessica Sorya: Yeah.
TehilaYah Ysrayl: Yeah.
Julia Meek: Good for you all. Now, how well we know, and Ketu has always reminded us of this, every month should be Poetry Month, and it is you're helping to make that a reality.
But in honor of this national designation for this very month, what words would you like to leave us with to commemorate the Spirit and the power of the spoken word?
TehilaYah Ysrayl: I would like to say, how else will I know light, if not for blindness. I shade my eyes, preparing for the awakening of me, my rebirth.
Julia Meek: Thank you for that, TehilaYah, and Jessica?
Jessica Sorya: May the poetry ignite a part of you as it has saved the life of me.
Julia Meek: Jessica Sorya and TehilaYah Ysrayl are two founding members of poets portal. Thank you for sharing your story and your poeting with us. Do carry the gift.
Jessica Sorya: Thank you for having us.
Thank you so much.
