Barbara West and Grace Loescher Feature at Poetry Express

Free + Open Mic. BARBARA WEST AND GRACE LOESCHER BEGAN COLLABORATING LAST YEAR, when they were 50 and 25 years old respectively. BARBARA WORKS PART-time as a nurse, while GRACE IS A FULL-time activist for social justice issues in general, homeless youth in particular, and cultivating the arts in all of us. When BARBARA PUBLISHED A BOOK, GRACE PUT OUT A SPOKEN WORD CD AND ENJOYED LIVE AUDIENCE AND SOCIAL MEDIA SUCCESS, accompanying herself on piano and guitar. Dec. 17th in BERKELEY will be their fifth collaborative performance. They expect to start off with a lively voice/guitar/washboard duet and then mix it up with a combination of solo and joint pieces. Topics range from preventing/mourning suicide to an unusual request by a hospice patient, and will include love and other activities of body, mind and spirit. Barbara West is the only parent of a 21-year-old son and works as a Wound/Ostomy/Continence Nurse, with prior work in Hospice. Previous publications include Full of Crow, Brevities, Medusa’s Kitchen, Sacramento Voices, and Davis Shambhala Center Newsletter. Her first book "...and I felt the simple sweetness of me" was published last year by Cold River Press. She is currently working on a memoir “Hunger to Help: Sorting Extraordinary Legacies”which explores the tension between Christian/Buddhist directives to “help others” and 12-step Recovery work which directs her to “focus on yourself.” Thanks to a background in theater, and some time singing with a band, Barbara often recites from memory, usually without a mic, since her voice is plenty loud. She also enjoys windsurfing.   Fly Fly flew at my face then swerved past my left ear like Luke Skywalker on his home planet, including me in the thrill.