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Tag: poem

Mother’s Day Pop Up Shop

Published by Rhetorical Redhead on May 4, 2016

‪Mothers Day‬ is HERE! I’m delighted and honored to be collaborating with Olive & Ivy Botanicals and Broadway Coffeehouse for this weekend’s holiday ‪pop up‬ event to offer some wonderful homemade gift options for Mum (Saturday May 7th & Sunday May 8th, 9 am – 1 pm). The beautiful and talented Sarah runs Olive & Ivy, which is an organic and raw, small batch botanical apothecary located here in ‪Salem, Oregon‬. I will be creating custom ‪#‎PopUpPoetry‬ on demand, and hopefully offer custom greeting cards for the first time! Sarah will offer her handcrafted, organic skin & body products. And…

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Spoken Word: Easter 2016

Published by Rhetorical Redhead on March 28, 2016
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Image courtesy of Salem Alliance Church. All rights reserved.

“Because He Lives”

Written by Jessica Murdoch, Rhetorical Redhead; Performed by Ray White

© 2016 Rhetorical Redhead All Rights Reserved

This Easter, I had the opportunity to compose another spoken word poem for Salem Alliance Church. The piece would be performed by an intelligent young man by the name of Ray White, recorded by SAC’s extremely talented tech guy, Chris Hahn, and directed by myself and Jeff Brown, the church’s Worship Pastor.

I continue to be humbled and blessed by beautiful collaborations such as these…they fall into my lap without my asking, and I’ve learned to say “yes” to the things that terrify me. Growth happens when you’re able to work through your fears, making them work for you, and replacing uncertainty with absolute trust. It’s so very hard. But so very liberating. And that is exactly what happened this Easter weekend. I never seem to be able to articulate these experiences very well…and I suppose that is alright. The best things in life need no explanation.

The livestream video is available to view by clicking here. For those who do not wish to watch the full video, the spoken word piece begins at the 24:45 time stamp. If you happen to meet Ray or Chris or Jeff, thank them. And I do hope you’ll take the time to watch the service in its entirety. We are surrounded by passionate and talented individuals who have such a heart for Christ and for others. Let’s celebrate Him, and each other, and remember that we live because He lives.

(Text of poem below.)

 

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“Poetry Has a New Name”

“Poetry Has a New Name”

Published by Rhetorical Redhead on March 22, 2016

 “Salem’s art scene is untapped. Portland—forget about it. It’s like elbowing into a crowded sardine can. But not here. This is a river you can leap into, and create a great literary scene.” Henry Hughes, in an interview with the Salem Weekly Click here to read my recent article in the Salem Weekly‘s Art section, discussing our local poetry community. The article weaves through an insightful interview with the ever gracious poet and author, Henry Hughes, who has just released a new collection of poetry, Bunch of Animals, as well as a memoir, Back Seat with Fish. Hughes’ writing continues to capture his ongoing love affair with fishing,…

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Pop Up Poetry – Valentine’s Weekend 2016

Published by Rhetorical Redhead on February 12, 2016

Saturday, February 13th Brooks Winery, 12:00 p.m. – 4:00 p.m. Poetry is “on the house” this Saturday, courtesy of the amazing Brooks Winery! Come to their gorgeous tasting room for some exquisite wine flights, a phenomenal view, and excellent conversation. Ask me to type up a poem on my vintage typewriter for you, or as a gift to someone! Give a subject; get a poem. It’s that easy. And what pairs better than wine and poetry? Donations accepted, and don’t forget to tip your server! See you there! Sunday, February 14th Broadway Coffeehouse, 9:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m. As a teaser…

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The Christmas Story

The Christmas Story

Published by Rhetorical Redhead on December 24, 2015

THE CHRISTMAS STORY

by Jessica Murdoch, Rhetorical Redhead ©2015 All Rights Reserved

As written and performed by Jessica Murdoch for the Christmas Eve Services at Salem Alliance Church on December 24th, 2015

(Spoken Word & Art Collaboration introduction begins at the 23:32 time stamp in the LiveStream Video)

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INTRO

‘Twas not the silent night of old

tradition leads us to believe;

perhaps the greatest story told

is the ‘Unspoken Christmas Eve.’

Both fully-God and fully-man,

fulfilling holy prophecy,

the Rock on which the Church would stand

bore humble birth and ancestry.

Come sit, come hear the Tale of Times

retold in careful word and script;

there’s much to read between the lines

revealed anew each year, for it’s

beyond the text, beyond the page,

these people, places, feeling, thought,

define a Faith that’s without age

because of Love, because of God.

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“Salem” – a sonnet

Published by Rhetorical Redhead on November 7, 2015

“Salem” is an original poem written by Jessica Murdoch, published in the Salem Weekly newspaper on September 3rd, 2015. As requested by #PopUpPoetry customer, Christine, the poem is a sonnet (specifically a Shakespearean-style sonnet) written in iambic pentameter, with the rhyme scheme ABAB CDCD EFEFGG. © 2015 Rhetorical Redhead All Rights Reserved  

“Is Anyone Thirsty?”

Published by Rhetorical Redhead on October 28, 2015

On Wednesday, October 28th, John Stumbo, the Alliance Board of Directors, and Salem Alliance Church hosted the The Alliance’s fourth Livestream Praise and Prayer event based on “Is Anyone Thirsty?” Isaiah 55:1 (NLT). Area churches were welcomed to attend in Salem, Oregon, while the entire Alliance family around the world was invited to participate online. The livestream video can be viewed here. (Poem performed at the 11:30 time-stamp.)

The following original spoken word poem was written and performed by Jessica Murdoch for the aforementioned event.

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Murdoch performing her spoken word at Salem Alliance on October 28th. Photo credit: CMAlliance.org.

“Is Anyone Thirsty?”

Written and Performed by Jessica Murdoch, Rhetorical Redhead
©2015 Rhetorical Redhead All Rights Reserved

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A Rhetorical Update

Published by Rhetorical Redhead on May 21, 2015

An update for you, my dear reader: I know it’s easy to see that #PopUpPoetry takes up a LOT of my time (it does…my IG gallery reflects that blatantly, as does my gap in WordPress posts). But that’s not to say I don’t continue to work on other things. It has actually been very hard to resist posting my more personal pieces as of late–because, firstly, people plagiarize FAR too much on the internet for my liking and I can’t afford to be plagiarized because, secondly, I am saving my work to submit for publication. It’s a slow and arduous…

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Hacking (Up a Lung)

Published by Rhetorical Redhead on April 30, 2015

HDay 8 – “H” as in Hacking (Up a Lung)

Sounds lovely, doesn’t it? But illness happens to all of us. (Writers aren’t invincible, contrary to popular belief.) The daily grind of poetic progress comes to a daily grinding halt. Be it due to the seasonal cold going around, or the full-blown flu, or food poisoning (I certainly hope not), we can’t be healthy 100% of the time. And when that happens, well…let’s just say it can really be a damper on your creativity, causing some unnecessary frustration.

As I write this, I’m perched atop a bar stool in a local coffeeshop. It’s a sunny spring day and the afternoon couldn’t be more promising. But my head is foggy from days of being suffocated by mucous, my extremities are exhausted from fatigue, I keep sneezing every three minutes, I’m mouth-breathing, my eyes are watering constantly…to any bystander I must look like I’m having a really bad day. But really, I’m just sick. And this is the first day I’ve been well enough to venture out of my house in the last week and attempt some writing. (Apologies if this blog post amounts to nothing but random yammering in the end. I’m unpredictable today! Weee! And this only proves that illness muffs up your writing routine, and you just gotta roll with the punches sometimes. — That was my wonky and weak thesis statement, professor, if you’re reading this…)

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The Greats of Poetry

Published by Rhetorical Redhead on April 24, 2015

GDay 7 – “G” as in “the Greats of Poetry”

Today’s post is a tribute to the Greats of Poetry. I’d like to take a moment to thank the brilliant men and women who came before us, paving the rough road so that we can have an easier go at it…learning from their failures and successes…studying and understanding the whys as to what made them so “great” in the first place…before attempting to carve our own path of originality on the road less traveled in hopes to create something worthy of standing stacked amongst their vertical names in bookstores for generations to come.

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