Ep. 34: Honey Bell-Bey on healing trauma with poetry
Poetry has the power to save lives. It saved Honey Bell-Bey from a life of poverty and the pain of having no father around. She wrote her first poems in crayon. Now she uses her words as a tool for social justice.
Honey is the Poet Laureate of Cuyahoga County, a National Poet Laureate Fellow and Founder and Director of The Distinguished Gentlemen of Spoken Word.
She writes about the girl she was: “Every little black girl needs to take a trip to the lost and found…to remind herself that she is the prize.”
She writes about being guilty of “spiritual disregard.” In the poem, “I Rest My Case,” she files a grievance on herself and tells the judge, “I was the one stealing my own spiritual wealth.” Honey shares how to find and use your most authentic voice and find your own P.O.E.T. — Power Over Emotional Trauma.
Take Aways:
Find the right mentors and teachers who encourage you to use and trust your voice.
Don’t sit down to write a great poem; just sit down and write to be free.
If you need time to write, turn off the TV.
Find out what touched you and give it to the world so the world can be touched by it, too.
Official Bio:
Honey Bell-Bey is the Poet Laureate of Cuyahoga County, a National Poet Laureate Fellow and Founder and Director of The Distinguished Gentlemen of Spoken Word.
Bell-Bey holds a BA in Broadcast Production Technology from Bethune-Cookman University. A motivational poet, writer, educator, and community advocate, Bell-Bey is an Ohio Certified Prevention Specialist and the founder and director for The International, Distinguished Gentlemen of Spoken Word, a character based performance troupe for adolescent males who perform on topics of disparities and social injustices.
She has performed, directed, and choreographed Spoken Word performances internationally and has received numerous awards and accommodations for her service and activism utilizing poetry as a tool to unite communities around issues in social justice and equity.
She was appointed the poet laureate of Cuyahoga County in January 2020, the first poet in sixteen years to hold the position. She lives in Cleveland, Ohio.
Website: