Yrsa Daley-Ward: Poet, Writer, Model, and Actor

My favorite part of doing this blog is the search for examples of people using art and standing up for what they believe in. The research that starts with one idea always seems to lead to more and more examples making the process enjoyable for me. So many times I come across artists saying what I feel and I share them with the hopes that they’ll connect with more of you.

Today I came across a Poet-Activist that I found to be relatable and so interesting. Please check her work out. (links below)

Yrsa Daley-Ward’s debut book ‘Bone’, released in 2014, was described in an anonymous review as:

“Bone is a very honest and insightful read that explores mental health, being a woman of color, sexuality, death, and matters of the heart.I can definitely relate to bone–being a woman of color and suffering from a mental illness. Her poems on mental illness stayed with me and wouldn’t leave. It allowed me to be honest about my struggle. Some of my faves are “mental illness”, “to the elders”, “issue”, “panacea”, “what love isn’t” and “emergency warning”. And there’s so many poignant lines like “One day i will tell you what I’ve been. It will scare you” and “I cannot find the God you serve and I have been known to stay out all night searching.” Bone really spoke to me. Let it speak to you.”

Since then she’s gone on to write 2 more books of poetry, “The How” and On “Snakes” and a memoir called “The Terrible”. She’s also active on Instagram. https://www.instagram.com/yrsadaleyward/