Join us on The Anna Jinja Show for a powerful exploration of creativity and connection! This week, photographer Fischer Wallace and Athens' Poet Laureate Stephanie Kendrick share their collaboration journey, blending photography and poetry to tell deeply personal stories.

Discover how their artistic pairing inspired Stephanie’s moving poem, "A Prayer for Distortion," weaving themes of trust, vulnerability, and personal growth. Stephanie Kendrick is the 2023/24 Poet Laureate of Athens, Ohio. She is the author of In Any of These Towns (Sheila-Na-Gig Editions, 2022) and serves as the editor of the local poetry newsletter Periodical Poetry. With a Master’s in Social Sciences from Ohio University, Stephanie is deeply involved in her community, including through her work at the Athens County Board of Developmental Disabilities. Her poetry has been published in notable journals such as Gyroscope Review, Still: The Journal, and Poets Reading the News.

Fischer Wallace is a talented photographer and mental health advocate, employed with the Athens Photo Project, where she explores the intersection of art and recovery. Through her work with Recovery Reframed, Fischer harnesses the power of visual storytelling to reframe narratives around mental health, offering new perspectives on healing and resilience. Her photography is deeply personal and reflective, using creative expression as a means to foster connection, challenge stigma, and inspire others on their own recovery journeys.

Fischer's dedication to both her art and advocacy makes her a powerful voice sharing why art works and why it matters. Whether you're passionate about visual or literary arts, this episode will inspire you to see the world—and yourself—through a new lens. Don't miss it!

Creative Interchange:
Poem Dedication: This piece is dedicated to Fischer Wallace with Athens Photo Project.

Prayer for Distortion

I think of you and your lens— how you might capture a memory

How you mish catch all the shadows in this room, blend them to make space for the light.

There is magic here, in this space between you and me, what is created when we sit together-

the solace of shared stor, enutter steady

the air we breathe and the way we share that, too.

I think of you and your lens, consider my own fears of exposure-Have you heard you have a gift?

A composer of every noise that holds a

you are a visual weaver, storyteler, artist.

There is magic here

and by magic I mean trust, and by this I mean I trust you-

to see me, distort me into my own new woman.

Guest Links:
https://www.facebook.com/athenspoetlaureate/

https://athensphotoproject.org/people/bio/fischer-wallace/

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