Welcome to my website, a place where you can learn a bit about me and sample some of my work. If you're inclined, please drop me a line and let me know what you think or perhaps commission a poem or two. Click here to send me a message.

It was inevitable that little Dee Dee would grow up to be a poet. Her mother would recite poetry and sing "the old songs" (now called "the spirituals") while working around the house. One day when Dee was about 8 years old, she asked her mother about the verses and rhymes she often spoke. Her mother handed her a book: it was an original 1913 edition of The Collected Poems of Paul Laurence Dunbar, which she'd won in a Paul Laurence Dunbar recitation contest when she herself was a girl. Then her mother proceeded to recite Dunbar's poems "Sympathy" and "In the Morning" from memory! It was then that Dee decided that one day she would write a poem that someone like her mother would memorize and recite to her little girl.

And she did. She wrote several, in fact. Today, Dee is much in demand as a performing poet participating in readings and performances throughout the Denver area. She has garnered a small following and her poems "Metamorphosis," "Signs of a Better World," and "They Slice the Air" have become regular requests for special events.

My current dream is to share the stage with two of the country's greatest poets: Lucille Clifton and Maya Angelou ~ perhaps on the Oprah Winfrey Show ~ where the three of us would perform a choral reading of my work. I encourage anyone who is touched by my poetry to write to Oprah and ask her to help me make this new dream come true.
Click here to tell Oprah!

Of course, it took a little while - nearly 40 years. Life intervened and led Dee in directions far away from poetry. However, a chance meeting with poet Dr. Bob Boyle, a man who would become a close friend and mentor, would help Dee return to and embrace her love of poetry. In 2002 Dee entered the University of Denver, as a "non-traditionally-aged" full-time student where she studied with poets Bin Ramke and Eleni Sikelianos. While at the DU, Dee also met Dr. Arthur Jones, founder and artistic program director of The Spirituals Project, an organization dedicated to the preservation and proliferation of the very spirituals her mother used to sing around the house. With Dr. Jones's guidance Dee's senior thesis Sankofa, Sasa, and Zamani: The Ongoing Influence of the Spirituals on African American Poetry received high praises and was awarded the University's Cook Prize for Outstanding Undergraduate Thesis. What a tribute to Mama!

These days Dee creates and performs original poetry, conducts writing and poetry workshops with youth and adults, and creates custom rituals for individuals and organizations to commemorate special events. She has received commissions from the University of Denver, The Veterans of Hope Project, The Interfaith Alliance of Colorado, The Spirituals Project, and others.

A rich collaboration with pianist/composer Pamela Weng and poet Dr. Bob Boyle has resulted in three CDs of original poetry and music: Spirit Rising and Solace: A Journey on the Path of Grief. and the newly released Earthtones II.

The commission from The Spirituals Project resulted in the creation of Dee's dramatic epic poem, "They Slice the Air." The poem traces the history, uses and ongoing healing power of the spirituals throughout time. Her performance of this piece was the centerpiece of their 4th Annual Spirituals Project Gala in 2006, and is the title cut of the newest Spirituals Project Choir CD, released in November 2007. Dee now serves as Poet in Residence for The Spirituals Project.

Dee recently participated in a live performance of "African Amber," an exquisite musical setting of Dee's poem "They Slice the Air" featuring members of the Heritage African Drum and Dance Ensemble.