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Artist Shelley Bruce throws poetry THIRST TRAPS during “Threads and Lines”; The Clique drops a perfect slam score during the “2 Piece Combo” and Shelley humbles the whole block during the “Five for Ya Eye”.

 [Episode Index:]

• “Light Seed” by Shelley Bruce: 0:37 
  
• Threads & Lines: 3:39 
  
• 2 Piece | Poetic Translations: 11:35 
  
• 2 Piece | #poetry: 22:29 
  
• 5 For Your Eye | 27:13 

Artist Shelley Bruce is someone I have always admired in a number of ways. From early days of sitting quietly at A Mic and Dim Lights admiring her paint or perform, to later growing into the folds of the LA poetry scene and working right alongside her; Shelley has always been full of one vital thing: Love. A very honest, vulnerable and uplifting love. It was that love I was hoping to capture by inviting her to clique up and be a part of the show.

This show, as all things are, has been a process filled with hard work, focus, and moments of confusion and frustration. Recording the show is the most satisfying part of it all and I knew sitting down with Shelley, living and breathing in this space, we would create something special. Something not only good for the show, but good for those tuning in as well. Shelley arrived alongside her partner Donovan, and we immediately made our way to check my car for donations to give to a local homeless man. Shelley’s first instinct upon arrival was to try to help someone in need. I say “instinct” because that was what it seemed to be, and I say “try” because the man was not interested in taking the Nikes I kept in the back of my car in case of this exact circumstance.

We proceeded with the morning’s preparations and readied ourselves to record yet another episode of The Pen Clique poetry podcast/webshow/experiment. Shelley enthusiastically sat in for blocking and all the not so fun parts of production and we rolled into the show being immediately inspired by “Light Seed” a poem Shelley brought in for “Threads and Lines.” Love, in both intent and action, always being what Shelley Bruce radiates; and “Light Seed” being the perfect example of that feeling. We moved on to the regular show happenings but as we approached the 5-word prompted-poem for “Five for Your Eye” Shelley asked if she could have a moment to speak about the poem, something we usually don’t do on the show (but not something we are opposed to either). She performed a short poem, with 5 stanzas each containing one of the 5 words given, and it showed a lot of the things I love about Shelley’s work. The pieces lands softly but powerfully as Shelley is so good at doing. She goes on to tell us that she wrote that poem the morning of the shoot, as she had waited and waited, only finding the real inspiration to finish the piece the morning we were scheduled to record. She continued on to tell a story of a sick friend’s fight with brain cancer, how through the happenings of life and through this poetry mechanism she found a way to express about her friend’s struggle in a very real way. We had a moment of reference and shout out to her and all those struggling and ended the show with high energy and love as we always try and do.

I then began to edit. I edit these episodes, then listen, then re-edit, then mix, then finish it all up. I hear each one countless times and miss and discover new things every passthrough. It was upon the final check of this episode that I really got hit with something special. The final check was when I downloaded from iTunes and listened with the intent of last notes and observations about my technical work. I sat down and did just that but was left with a desire to do just what Shelley had done; to wait until I was given something to write. To not wrestle words and techniques acquired into place but to let the inspiration come from a more divine place, that I could be given inspiration by something bigger than myself. When I finished I was left with a poem about my own struggles with health or seeming lack of health. It was healing. Not in an esoteric way, but in a real definite way; a reminder to me, from something bigger than myself, that things bigger than myself (like poetry) can manifest anything we want it to.

Shelley Bruce showed and proved to me again that poetry can be healing. Shelley is not just an artist revealing parts of herself in hopes that it helps others, but shows that there is a conduit to god through the artist. I found a reminder of that in Shelley’s participation in this all, and truly feel through her that the Pen Clique and myself got a small piece of god. And as it had found me, I hope that feeling finds its way home to you as well. 

“Ase.”

Writeup by Daniel Hees

 [Footnotes] 

• Shelley Bruce: Instagram | Facebook
• 2 Piece: Poetic Translations by Steven Willis & Ekho | All Def Poetry
  
• 2 Piece: “Dreams on Fire” by Don Black, via @MotherLondon
  
• Music by The Dope Spot Studios Produced by Dom V
  
• Intro title animated by Seth Garnes