Eduardo Ritter
“In an increasingly intolerant world where human evil, prejudice and hatred of yore return with more force than ever, I felt very happy to be able to contribute with my poetry to try to improve the world we live in a little. We certainly need a world with more love and less hate, less boring prose and more poetry, less shouting and more music. So, as I said, it was an immense satisfaction to integrate this project, mainly because it contains so many good writers, poets and musicians and to have Gabriel’s talent and Ron’s initiative available to make everything happen. From the bottom of my heart: thank you”.
Michael White
“From the Ancestor is a message across time, bridging the past to the future, international in scope and content, it is a message that recognizes that we are the ancestors of the future generations and bear responsibility for the future. It carries a message of consolation, a radical message of deep understanding that seeks to show the redemptive qualities of art and how we can overcome the awful destruction we as a species have wrought on the earth with a vision that returns to our indigenous roots to recognize that nature was not made to be exploited, that we don’t own the earth but instead the earth owns us. It is a call for reciprocal maintenance and sustainability so that we can give the future generations a chance to have a better earth”
Brian Hassett
I was honored to be asked to represent Canada as part of the From The Ancestors project, and the invitation was only the beginning of a joyous journey. I’ve written songs with musicians and performed on stage with countless jazz cats backing me up, but never had the pleasure of having a multi-genre composer like Gabriel Walker set music to an existing poem. It was such a happy experience to hear his upbeat, playful, rhythmic, grooving, world-beat-sounding orchestration accent the poetry lines — but never overtake them. This entire project felt like Herbie Hancock’s “Imagine” session with all these different voices and cultures collaborating in harmony to create a global whole. May all of us be lucky enough to find co-creators whose colors compliment our own.
Amber Lee
Working on the Ancestors project was such a pleasure. Seeing everyone pour their heart and soul into these powerful works and words was really inspirational. Ron and Gabriel guided us through the process gently and precisely so we could all give our best to the project. Truly wonderful experience.
Lorraine Currelley
The poems, prayers and music in this collection are courageous, refreshing and from the heart. We identify and are not strangers to their expressions of love, joy, and uncompromising cries for justice, peace and healing. They address the challenging and turbulent and political and social climate we live under today. Uniting this collection is hope. The unrelenting determination to persevere. Authors seeking to fill wells and build bridges of understanding. Culture, ethnicity and language do not present barriers. There is an undeniable strength and universal connectedness between these authors. One best described as the human spirit.The wisdom, aspirations, insights, and the hopes of this group are well documented In this empowering collection. It’s one all authors and contributors can be proud of.
Julie Easley
‘From the Ancestors’ is a beautiful project and one I am honoured to be part of. Giving my poem over to be scored was an exciting and nervous journey, ‘Sorry (for Rhonda)’ is my most cherished, defining poem, and speaks a truth of lived experience that some choose not to see. Ron and Gabriel treat my words with a respect and care that is life affirming, and made the whole process joyous. To hear my spoken words with Gabriel’s enchanting and beautiful score, the time and care he took to lift the poem to a different place, means everything to me.
Listening to the final edit brought tears to my eyes, and a warmth to my heart, to know that Gabriel considered every word, to know that creativity can heal and connect.
Thank you Ron and Gabriel for this wonderful opportunity to contribute to the Kentucky Refugee Ministries, and bringing together this inspirational, collaborative work.
Michael White
Ron Whitehead and Trancemission Press have done us all a big service. From the Ancestors: Poems and Prayer for Future Generations is a book and two CD’s of spoken word poetry from an international cadre of poets including Joy Harjo, our presiding Poet Laureate and Anne Waldman, one of the great voices in contemporary poetry. This collection of poetry on the two generous CD’s is backed with music on each cut. The collection reaches back in time and casts us into the future, it reaches around the world, with shamans and curanderos and poets of all stripes from all countries in all languages. This is rich stuff. It begins with Joy Harjo and her poem, The Creation Story, which is fitting since in the ancient traditions any serious venture must begin with a recitation of the creation story. From there we enter some dark terrain with both hope for the future and dire warnings about the impending apocalypse if we don’t listen to the voices of the ancients and the poetic prophets that are crying out from the contemporary wilderness that we call civilization. These poems give voice to the ancestors and make the point that we, now, are the ancestors of the future generations. There are thirty-five poets, musicians, singer, healers, curanderos and shamans gathered together to tell this tale. Listen carefully, your life, and the life of our future generations, could depend on it.