Angela Redmond-Theodore is a poet whose work is inspired and influenced by her cultural and familial Ancestors. She earned an MFA in Creative Writing from the University of Tampa. Her poetry has appeared in The North American Review, The Comstock Review, The Tishman Review, Obsidian, and Aquifer: The Florida Review Online. In the west central community where she and her husband reside, she is known as a teller of stories—African folktales and the narratives of those who survived the horrors of enslavement. She is a proud member of the African American Heritage Society of East Pasco County (Florida) and the National Association of Black Storytellers, among other organizations.
Old Blood, Still Running
If our memories are blood
all this time, all this time
like the rivers, the ancient rivers
all this time, all this time
the Nile silted with our grandeur
all this time, all this time
the Congo carving secrets
all this time, all this time
the Mississippi daring us
all this time, all this time
If our memories are rivers,
the oceans should speak our minds by now
our children should know their names by now
we should know where we stand by now
All this time, all this time, all this time
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Torch Literary Arts is a 501(c)3 nonprofit established to publish and promote creative writing by Black women. We publish contemporary writing by experienced and emerging writers alike. TORCH has featured work by Colleen J. McElroy, Tayari Jones, Sharon Bridgforth, Crystal Wilkinson, Patricia Smith, Natasha Trethewey, Elizabeth Alexander, and others. Programs include the Wildfire Reading Series, writing workshops, and retreats.