We are two poets and a singer who have been creating, performing, recording and publishing original poetry and song in the Philadelphia area and beyond since 1991. Our work is a lively and inventive blend of the spoken and sung word. Honoring each woman's strong solo voice, we revel in the many ways to combine our voices. With no instruments but voice and gesture, our performances and recordings are journeys of the soul dedicated to fostering peace within and among us. Drawing on personal memory, the cycles of nature, and the current social and political climate, we create experiences that heal and celebrate. Our work is deeply feminist. We offer our music and poetry in the service of creating a kinder, more just, more joyous culture.
Annie Geheb has been performing in Philadelphia area coffeehouses, festivals, bars, churches and concert stages for twenty years. She sang as a chorister and soloist with Anna Crusis Women's Choir for nine of those years and has developed a broad range of musical styles, including folk, blues, country and gospel. By trade, a special education teacher and district-wide trouble-shooter for academically and emotionally challenged children, she feels a capella singing gives her the greatest freedom to show what is in her heart. The experience of working closely with Ellen and Susan has opened her to create music inspired by the flow and feeling of poetry. This unique collaboration has strengthened and expanded her expressiveness and the power with which she can evoke meaning through music.
Ellen Ford Mason wrote her first poem to thank her great grandmother for a handmade quilt. She has performed her poetry for thirty years in many venues: at arts festivals, coffee houses, bookstores and schools, as well as in a church in Ireland and at the Beijing Women's Conference. Early on, she decided to memorize her poems in order to keep eye contact with her audience. In addition to writing and performing, she edits Sisters, an international magazine by and about women and teaches people how to listen to each other with open hearts and clear minds. She worked for twenty years as a human factors engineer in corporate America and now works at home, writing, editing, and caring for her young daughter.
Susan Windle, the founder of Voices of a Different Dream, has been writing and performing poems for thirty-five years. A lively and engaging speaker with a strong belief in the healing and transforming power of poetry, she has presented her work, and the work of other poets, in many varied settings over the years - for audiences ranging from the very young to the very old, for those who love poetry and for those who may not know they do. A lover of artistic collaboration, she has enjoyed creating and performing with singers, musicians, dancers and, most recently, visual artists. With painter Sara Steele, (
http://sarasteele.com ), Susan has created poem-prints, fine art reproductions in which image and word support and converse with each other. In addition to writing and performing, Susan leads Writing and Drawing Circles for Women, seasonal support groups that use spontaneous writing and drawing as tools to communicate with self and others. Susan also brings her work, and the work of other poets, into school settings where she helps children and their teachers engage with poems through interactive performances. She lives in Mt. Airy, Philadelphia with her partner of 30 years and their two sons.
See more about Susan and her work at
http://SusanWindle.com/
