Transcript
[tapping sounds as Danny spells on the letterboard]
D: Hi all and hi Tara!
T: Hi Danny!
D: Welcome to All Our Brave Hearts podcast, Episode 6!
T: You're doing a great job at remembering to introduce the podcast. We forgot that for a few episodes.
D: Haha! Lesson learned! So Tara, what is something kind that someone has done for you lately?
T: I am going to say that my partner - it's not any one specific thing, but I've been really kind of frantically scattered trying to get ready for this upcoming trip, and wrapping everything up here and trying to keep up with everything I need to do here. And he's been very supportive, very patient, and very encouraging. So, I guess a small example of that is, this is his week to have the parking spot near the apartment, and he gave it to me! But you know, in fairness, he is going to have it for several weeks... haha. But that's just one small example. And another thing is he's going to bring me to the airport tomorrow morning, very early. So that's a very kind thing.
D: He is a good guy.
T: I'm glad you approve.
D: I sure do! You deserve all his kindness.
T: Thank you, Danny.
D: Hmm... my turn?
T: Yeah! I was going to ask you. Danny, what is something kind that someone has done for you lately?
D: Our little sister and her boyfriend did the dishes for us after dinner last night.
T: They sure did! It was very nice, very kind.
D: I appreciated it because I was exhausted!
T: You sure were! You've been working hard, Danny.
D: Now, this episode.
T: How do you want to kick it off?
D: Let's just dive in! I am excited about this one.
[Funny growling noises in the background]
T: If you hear some strange little grumbling noises in the background, that's the aforementioned sister.
D: Haha! Now, let's start.
I am so wanting to share some of my poems today. I love poetry! Many of us spellers do. It is an art form that crafts images and ideas out of the creative wielding of words. Perfect for our hyperconnected brains and cherishing of hard-won communication. We all have different styles, which is fascinating.
T: Danny's journey into appreciating and reading poetry really started in the summer of 2020, and we'd only been fluent together since the spring of 2020. One of the first organized activities we did was, Danny participated in this online course on Coursera, Modern and Contemporary American Poetry or "ModPo" for short. And it's taught by a University of Pennsylvania professor and teaching assistants. Danny had never had any meaningful formal education prior to that. He was really in glorified daycare throughout school and adult community programs. And within the first five minutes of watching the introductory video for this course, I just saw this spark -
D: Red letterboard! I love this memory. You tell it so well. Continue!
T: Thank you, boss, I will continue! But it was so apparent from Danny's body language that a chord had been struck. He sat up, he scooted up toward the edge of the couch to get closer to the computer screen, he had a big smile, a big grin, his eyes were all alight. He loved the course! He did very well and had great interactions with the professor. He was also starting to write his own poetry around this time, and was sharing it at this monthly online cafe for spellers (which are people who spell to communicate like Danny) called Neurolyrical Cafe. So, basically from the early days of us spelling together, poetry has been a central part of how Danny expresses himself creatively. That ok?
D: I love that summary!
T: Oh good.
D: Writing poems is an outlet for me. I can express so much of what I am feeling through relatively few words. It is a gift for my loved ones, too. I can depict our lives and experiences for us to remember and relive.
T: It really is such a precious gift to have, Danny. To be able to read your poems, which so beautifully and profoundly and evocatively capture key moments in our lives and feelings that we experience as a family. The bad times, the hard times, the heartache, the heartbreak, but also the times of joy and elation and even those really beautiful quiet moments of contentment that we share together. I'm so grateful that our shared experience is documented in these really beautiful words. I read your poems often, Danny. I mean, they often make me cry, so I have to be smart about which poems I read and when I read them. But it really is a precious thing to have, and I really thank you for that.
D: Wow, I am so happy to hear that. It means so much!
T: Oh good, Danny. It means a lot to us too.
D: I create them in my head. Not the exact words, but the sense and feeling of the poem. Then I spell out the words that flow from that. I rarely edit and I rarely get writer's block. It is a process of my daily life to ideate poems.
Today I want to share some poems about togetherness. This is a central theme for me in my life where I am so appreciating interdependence and the ability to finally share with my loved ones how deeply I care about them.
T: And again, Danny, this is such a precious gift you give us. It makes the very vibrant and immense love that we all share together somehow more tangible, to have it presented to us in words. And the depth of your feelings for us and your observations is just astounding, honestly.
D: You are my biggest fan!
T: I think I might have some competition from our mom, but I'm definitely up there.
D: You are right. Our sister, too.
T: Of course! We're in a tight competition for #1 fan.
D: A lovely competition.
T: Thank you, Danny.
D: First: A poem about how my family keeps me going even in my deepest moments of despair.
In my all so difficult life
The reality is at times so
Sharp cutting slicing
Cross-sections of my constructed dreams
And they collapse folded on themselves
Their weight crushes me underneath
And in this heightened gravity
All that keeps me
All that saves me
All that clears the debris
And lets me start again
Is your love.
I am ever amazed by the power their love gives me.
T: So this poem was written when Danny was going through a really difficult time - a lot of dysregulation, and if you're not familiar with that, what that mean is basically anxiety taking over his body and him really not being able to control how it moves. It's really hard for him to control his OCD, or I should say, his OCD usually flares up, a lot of sleepless night, basically doing a lot of things that he doesn't want to be doing. It's a very difficult time. We'll probably speak more about it in the future.
D: It is bleak, but this poem tells how love saves me.
T: And I think it gets all of us through those dark days, Danny, because we are committed through our love for you to help you make it through okay, and for us to all make it through together. This poem makes me cry [tearing up] - you're always making me cry!
D: Sorry! You are so quick to cry because you lived the poem with me.
T: Yeah, maybe that's it, Danny.
D: That is for sure it.
T: Alright, you're confident!
D: This next poem is about my extended family in Ireland.
T: Yeah, so we are half Irish, half Japanese. Our father was born and raised in Dublin, and we are Irish citizens. We, in our adult lives, are really feeling a need to connect with both sides of our dual heritage. And this is particularly poignant on the Irish side because our father passed away almost 6 years ago, and actually as we're recording, it would've been his 80th birthday today. We've visited family in Ireland a few times here and there. Anything else to add?
D: Red letterboard. Tell about aunt and cousin.
T: Yeah, I wasn't sure if you wanted to mention that, but what makes this poem even more poignant now is, it's about the house of an aunt - Danny will explain a little bit - she used to always host us when we visited. And she very sadly passed away at the end of last year. And one of our cousins, one of her children, also passed away. And that dual loss, in addition to our dad not being around anymore, makes this poem even more emotional for us. If you have this experience where you are often a far distance from the people you love, I think this poem will resonate with you. It's a beautiful, humble celebration of those quiet moments spent together.
D: I wrote this almost two years ago, when visiting, and enjoying being gathered around one of my aunts' kitchen tables. I felt at home so profoundly. It is a precious memory.
Kitchen
I have been here twice before
Years apart
And it is a borrowed sense of home
A suspended and parallel home
And it is beyond normal time
Or at least beyond my normal time
And it is also temporary
We are all temporary
In this form
And it is all the more beautiful.
I hold that memory so dear in my heart.
Next is a poem that was in my chapbook Waves and Wind and We. I wrote it while sitting all cozy between my two sisters on a chilly but golden fall day in Balboa Park.
This is a Universe
I don't know how I first learned about
Multiple parallel universes,
Nor do I know much about the idea
But I often think about me
In those other universes,
Me free and easy and talking as my
Beautiful mind dictates
And us all in a house we own
And living for love and all that is gorgeous
And our regrets never were
But I sit here between you
And if this is my universe,
I think it is all
I need.
This is one of my favorite poems that I've written. It is a way to share with my sisters how much I love them and how they lift me up.
T: I will always remember that afternoon in the park with you and Eira. That was a really beautiful - all our park sessions are beautiful - but that one stands out because that was such a luminous poem for us to have.
D: I love it! That is it for this episode. I encourage you to seek out poetry by other spellers and other marginalized groups. Our words tell our worlds.
So that is Episode 6. Thank you for listening and Tara take it away!
T: Alright, so: as Danny said, thank you so much for listening, and please do take a little bit of time to like and comment. Again, this helps with our visibility on different platforms and helps make sure that more people will stumble upon the great wisdom that we two have to share! But I actually do feel like Danny has a lot of wisdom to share. And please just share this with everyone you know (let's be ambitious)!
We love to have your comments, any questions for future Question & Answer episodes. You can see the transcript on Substack. And if you'd like to donate for Danny's advocacy work, including on this podcast, there's a link -
D: Red letterboard! I would appreciate it.
T: It would be much appreciated if people would donate. So the link to his Ko-Fi account is on the About page on Substack. And you can find him on social media at Danny With Words, and his website is dannywithwords.com
Alright, Danny, did I do a good job as your promoter? I think I could be a little more emotive, but I'll work on it.
D: You are great!
T: Thanks, dude.
D: Bye all, and take care!
T: Take care!
[Music: Brave Together, by Danny Whitty & Brian Laidlaw; performed by Brian Laidlaw]
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