And They All Rejoiced! – Creative Ramblings

In March 2009, I started making videos of myself reciting poetry over music and photographs. The comments I received were so positive that I was encouraged to make a CD.

I love Spoken Word poetry. However, my goal was to create a unique concept, or something that was very different from what I was used to hearing.

At the end of April, I released my fourth collection of poetry, entitled Project: Heartbeats and Elevation. This book is very important to me, because it sums up the core of my beliefs in God. While writing it, I came to realize that my purpose in life was to write poetry (and maybe lyrics, eventually). I know I can reach people that way. I am not good at writing novels or short stories. I wrote two plays, and I loved it. But, poetry is really my thing.

I wanted to title my CD Poetic Presence. These two words made sense to me. I loved this title! Nonetheless, I found that someone had already used it for another purpose. So, copyrights being what they are, I decided to go for something different: This Is Poetry. I wanted to find something that did not have a spiritual taste to it. That second title sounded good to me.

Then, at the beginning of June, my friend Shelton Elkins, the author of A Mile in My Shoes, suffered a heart attack, fell in a coma, and passed away two weeks later. During one of our first online conversations, he had sent me a story called Rizen. When I read it, I was dumbfounded. It was a masterpiece! I found myself thinking: “This guy is the most amazing writer you have ever talked to.” Shortly after, we started collaborating on poems, and our ultimate goal was to work on a common body of work.

So, when Shelton died, it made sense to me that a tribute should be paid him. Rizen – The CD was the title that I chose.  And the more I listen to the tracks, the more fitting it is.

I had started working on the CD in May, and had run into miscellaneous difficulties. When you have no studio, no experience and no way to really soundproof the room you work in, the challenge is HUGE! I am a perfectionist and I spent hours recording each of the sixteen poems. If I found one word  or one syllable that did not sound good, I had to start again. I worked 6 days a week, and ten hours a day for over a month and a half.

It was an exhausting but enriching experience. I can honestly say that I enjoyed it tremendously. I am very proud of my achievement, and I hope you will be able to feel that if you ever listen to the album.

If you are interested in checking out Rizen – The CD, visit the following link: http://www.wix.com/cendrine/Rizen—The-CD. You will be able to listen to the first two tracks for free. Or you can access the page from my website at http://www.soulpoetrysite.com.  I have posted promotional videos in my channel on YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uoXvUMsGFtc and http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y3OdoLRkMNk

The CD will be available from Lulu.com in about a week. You will be able to purchase the album in MP3 format in a couple of days.

So, stay tuned!