radio + podcasts
Dust + Dignity Podcast, 2021
The Dust + Dignity Podcast explores the connections between leadership, social justice and music. Hosted by Dr. Bruce Campbell Jr.
Business Model Sandbox Podcast, March 2019
BIF’s Chief Catalyst Saul Kaplan talks to Yolanda Wisher about building community through poetry.
Ryan Collerd
Black Spirituals on NTS Live, Aug. 2018
Curator Meg Onli speaks with Yolanda Wisher about her recent program Stellar Masses, the legacy of spoken word today, and Nina Simone as personal armor.
The MusiQology Podcast, Nov. 2018
Host Guthrie P. Ramsey and Yolanda Wisher discuss the way artists’ memories work, the character of Philly neighborhoods, and her deep well of performance rhetorics.
Imagine Otherwise, Sept. 2017
Cathy Hannabach interviews Yolanda Wisher about poetry as a community engagement practice and blending academic, artistic, and activist experiences in one’s everyday work.
articles + interviews
Moor Mother by Rashid Zakat
"This Curator of Spoken Word Has a Mission to Create "Pop-Up Churches of the Soul," Garage, May 2018
With a new performance series, Philadelphia Contemporary’s Yolanda Wisher wants to shake off the old ways of curating. By Erin Schwartz.
Neal Santos
"Philadelphia Poet Laureate Yolanda Wisher dreams while walking on the ground," Creative Exchange/Artists With Impact, Feb. 2017
"Yolanda Wisher is currently the third Poet Laureate for the City of Philadelphia, following in the footsteps of her former Temple University professor, celebrated poet and activist Sonia Sanchez..." By Nicole Rupersburg.
Mark Palacio
"Seven poets keeping the rhythmic tradition alive in Philadelphia," PhillyVoice, July 2015
With no shortage of creativity or issues to address, Philadelphia poets are as active and influential as ever. Below, find seven of the city's wordsmiths who are keeping the tradition of poetry alive. By Brandon Baker.
Neal Santos
"Yolanda Wisher is Here for Your Truth," Title Magazine, April 2017
I sat down with Yolanda Wisher to discuss why poetry matters, what makes the poetry scene in Philly so special, and why good audiences are key to good poets. By Rachel Fiske Reynolds.
Kettle Pot Tracks
"‘Poetry saved me’: A conversation with Yolanda Wisher, Philly’s new poet laureate," Billy Penn, Feb. 2016
New poet laureate Yolanda Wisher on the change she hopes to bring: ‘I’ve seen kids using poetry to get out’. By Cassie Owens.
Mark Palacio
"Germantown’s multi-talented Wisher made history as poet," Chestnut Hill Local, July 2014
Yolanda Wisher, who was born in Germantown and has lived there for the last 14 years, is an accomplished poet, singer, musician and educator. Following is a list of questions we put to Yolanda last week and her answers. By Len Lear.
Ted Boughter-Dornfeld
"Meet the Artist: Yolanda Wisher," Intercultural Journeys, Oct. 2017
Before Intercultural Journeys presented Yolanda Wisher's choreopoem Pirate Jenny's Conspiracy in Nov. 2017, Eric Ziegelman chatted with Wisher about her art, her creative process, and her inspiration.
Ryan Collerd
Fellows Friday: Q&A with Poet Yolanda Wisher, Questions of Practice, Dec. 2015
The “Fellows Friday” series focuses on the artistic lives of our Pew Fellows: their aspirations, influences, and creative challenges. This week, we speak to Yolanda Wisher, who merges the personal and the political, writing for both artistic and community-oriented pursuits.