Versify

Ask anyone about their neighbors and they’ll likely have a strong opinion to share. This week, Versify’s team of poets sit down with strangers to hear stories about neighbors and neighborhoods. They discover unusual recollections and moments of camaraderie — and then turn those memories into original poems.

Ambushed by a menacing dog, Nashville physics teacher (and standup comedian) Bob Clark taps into some unconventional wisdom in his attempt to flee. Bob slyly reveals his story to poet Destiny Birdsong. She’s caught off guard, but weaves the compelling tale into an original poem about physics, relationships, and survival.

For much of her life, Ali Russell has been uncertain about religion. Even as a little girl, she’d ask her parents, “How do we know we’re worshiping the right God?” She even had a Jesus dream that still lingers with her today. In this episode, Ali shares her story to her longtime friend and Nashville […]

Serg Rodriguez hasn’t seen his family in years. He was excommunicated by their church and grew apart from his parents and siblings. But now as a writer in Nashville, his little sister is never far from his mind. Without warning, she troubles his thoughts and finds here way into everything he puts on paper. In […]

Ebralie Mwizerwa is a mother of five, an accountant, a devoted church-goer — and a survivor of the 1994 Rwandan genocide. She fled with her family while pregnant and now runs a nonprofit that assists incoming refugee families in Nashville, Tennessee.

Fred Bailey grew up blind on a farm in Gallatin, Tennessee — except he didn’t actually know he was blind at first.