The Scapegoat Guild Podcast

Listen in on our delightful book discussion with author Tim Cummings who was our first guest on the podcast! Tim explores a layered look at middle grade life, loss and adventure.

Buy the book: https://a.co/d/4N9Lqnk

https://www.timcummings.ink/

Dip into the velvet voice of performance poet Brennan DeFrisco. Deeply passionate about elevating unheard voices, Brennan chats about his projects, his beloved partner, Allie, the concept of spoons, and Queen Baby Head, who chose their loving care.

Bio:

Brennan DeFrisco is a poet, teaching artist, editor, voice actor, & arts coordinator from the San Francisco Bay Area. He’s been a National Poetry Slam finalist, a Pushcart Prize nominee, 2017 Grand Slam Champion of the Oakland Poetry Slam, & program coordinator for California Poets in the Schools, Poetry Out Loud, and the San Francisco Arts Commission. He’s the author of A Heart With No Scars, published by Nomadic Press, Honeysuckle & Nightshade, published by Swimming with Elephants Publications, & has served as poetry editor on the mastheads of Lunch Ticket, Caesura & Meow Meow Pow Pow. Brennan facilitates creative writing workshops, serving K-12 classrooms, incarcerated youth, adults, seniors, and various arts education programs. His work has been published in Red Wheelbarrow, Oracle Fine Arts Review, Drunk in a Midnight Choir, Collective Unrest, & elsewhere. He holds an MFA in Creative Writing from Antioch University Los Angeles.

https://hellapoetry.com/

In this episode, deeply inquisitive and magnetic, Meredith Arena, a teaching artist and queer writer, turns answers into questions, teaches us about indigenous wisdom, theatre, movement, and the power of connectivity, and discovers less know facts about ADHD.

Bio:

Meredith Arena (she/they) is a queer writer and interdisciplinary artist originally from New York City, now living in Seattle. In addition to writing, Meredith makes photographs, doodles, and sometimes performs. Her work explores place, home, belonging, ritual and friendship. She is a teaching artist, organizer, gardener, and ambivert. Her writing can be found in various journals including Longleaf Review, Peatsmoke, Blood Orange Review, and Poetry NW. She was the 2021 Erin Donovan fellow in poetry at Mineral School in Washington. She holds an MFA in creative writing and a Certificate in the Teaching of Creative Writing from Antioch University Los Angeles.

Some people change a life. Others affirm it. Listen to artist, writer Gloria Harrison, a goddess who captures both. Gloria reshapes views on motherhood and shines a survivor's light on the murky pandemic effect we're collectively shouldering.

Stunning mentor and writer Rebecca Kuder, accompanies us for a conversation about trauma and rewriting our narratives.

Bio:

BIO for The Scapegoat Guild podcast (2022)

Rebecca Kuder’s debut novel, The Eight Mile Suspended Carnival, was published by What Books Press. Her stories and essays have appeared in Los Angeles Review of Books; Hags on Fire; Bayou Magazine; Year’s Best Weird Fiction; The Rumpus; Crooked Houses; and elsewhere. She earned an MFA in Creative Writing from Antioch University Los Angeles, and received an individual artist excellence award from the Ohio Arts Council. Rebecca has taught creative writing in schools, universities, and communities. She lives in Yellow Springs, Ohio, with the writer Robert Freeman Wexler and their child. More: www.rebeccakuder.com

Sit with us for a lovely chat about podcasts, writings, and the importance of family with Loumarie Rodriguez.

Bio:

Loumarie Ivette Rodriguez is a Connecticut-based reporter, podcaster, and adjunct professor at Post University. She earned her MFA from Antioch University Los Angeles and completed her undergraduate at University of Connecticut.

She was previously the editor-in-chief for the Lunch Ticket literary journal for Issues 17 and 18 and assistant editor for the Little Patuxent Review. She also served as lead flash editor in the Women’s National Book Association Contest in 2020. She co-hosts a movie review podcast called Worth a “Watch with Loumarie and Steve” found streaming on Spotify and Apple Podcasts. You can find her on Twitter and Instagram at @rloumarie26.

Join us for a deep yet funny conversation with Sen Sherman of Soul in Space as we talk about yoga and belonging.

Bio:

Sen is a New Jersey - based Hatha & Trauma yoga instructor, reiki practitioner, and writer.  Her yoga journey began shortly after finishing her undergraduate studies, but as her healing journey began, she found yoga to be an essential tool in her life. Sen was called to do her 200-hour training with Yoga Blue Fitness, which has certified a shocking number of Black Yoga instructors all over. Those few months impacted her practice for the better, and she discovered that not only could she focus on Trauma-Informed Yoga, but even Trauma Informed Yoga with a focus on survivors of sexual assault and race-based trauma, which she studied with the Trauma Conscious Yoga Method. After making friends and forming a community of like-minded individuals, she was encouraged to pursue her 300 hour training with My Vinyasa Practice and Reiki 1& 2 with Reiki for Reparation. It's a humbling journey and she is so thankful to have been given the opportunity to connect and learn from these amazing teachers. Sen's goal is to share experiences, to tell stories, and to share what she knows and learns with her community.  She hopes as she continues to study and explore that she can provide a real treat that empowers you to harness your magic.

https://www.soulin.space/

Join us for a profound conversation with André Hardy Sr. as we discuss family, activism, and the important role writing plays in his life.

Bio:

André Hardy has had a diverse career as a professional athlete, corporate executive in both the non-profit and corporate sectors, and small business owner. His lifelong passion is writing. As a ghostwriter, he penned “Tripping into The Light, The Charlie Collins Story.” His debut novel: Playing Coltrane explores a man’s search for redemption through the eyes of an urban fixer. He was nominated for UCLA’s James Kirkwood Literary Prize for an excerpt of that story. André holds an MFA from Antioch University Los Angeles and his essays, interviews, and critical analysis have been published in LA Tribe Magazine and Lunch Ticket and his story: “Negro in a Hot Tub” is featured in Made in L.A. Anthology’s Volume One edition. He has also written articles focused on the topic of volunteerism in America for The San Mateo Times and The Redwood City Tribune. André was the fourth pick of the Eagles in the 1984 draft and played for the Seahawks and 49ers.  He lives in Los Angeles with his beautiful wife, renowned Buddhist meditation teacher JoAnna Hardy. André can be found at: andrehardy.com.

https://andrehardy.com/

During this rich and hilarious discussion with author, actor, and artist Tim Cummings, we discuss the creative process, his connection with animals, thoughts on dealing with death, as well as his upcoming book Alice the Cat. 

Tim Cummings Bio:

Tim Cummings holds an MFA in Creative Writing from Antioch University Los Angeles and a BFA from New York University/Tisch School of the Arts. Recent publications include works in F(r)iction, Scare Street, Lunch Ticket, Meow Meow Pow Pow, From Whispers to Roars, Drunk Monkeys, and Critical Read/RAFT, for which he won the "Origins" essay contest for his essay, "You Have Changed Me Forever." A regular contributor at LA Review of Books (LARB), he writes features, reviews, and interviews authors. He runs several Writing Workshops per year and teaches writing for UCLA Extension Writers' Program. His debut novel, Alice the Cat, will be published on 5/23/23 by Fitzroy Books.

https://www.timcummings.ink/