Yolanda Wisher: Building Community Through Poetry

On This Episode

Poet, singer, and educator, Yolanda Wisher masterfully alchemizes the beauty of people and place into poetry, connectivity, and story. 

Sharing her passion for the spoken word and lyrical flow, Yolanda Wisher joins us to engage in community building and placemaking as Philadephia’s third-ever poet laureate and current Curator of Spoken Word at the Philadelphia Contemporary museum. Wisher’s words center around experiences and impact, uniting those in the world around her and at large through her powerful observations and beliefs.

Bridging the gap between art and community, her hope is to help others think about how to reimagine spaces and society through a new lens of accessibility and in a welcoming way. “I try to be a vessel for poetry. A lot of the work and exercise that I do is about humility. It’s a way of going through the world … sometimes I like to just be of service,” Wisher tells us.

Lending her voice and vision to BIF, she’ll be leading one of our first immersive explorations into health and wellbeing with an upcoming Story Cure, bringing in local community in West Philadelphia to participate in an evening of story, sharing, and collaboration to begin our journey towards seeking to understand how individuals and families experience the current healthcare system as part of BIF’s Personalized Medicine by Design project.

Show Notes

• Personalized Medicine by Design
• More On Yolanda Wisher
• Yolanda Wisher at BIF2018