Jerri Hardesty: Changing Lives Through Poetry

 ========= Old Image Removed =========1Array
(
    [_wp_attached_file] => Array
        (
            [0] => 2015/10/hardesty_pic1-e1445879718960.png
        )

    [_wp_attachment_metadata] => Array
        (
            [0] => a:5:{s:5:"width";i:480;s:6:"height";i:302;s:4:"file";s:40:"2015/10/hardesty_pic1-e1445879718960.png";s:5:"sizes";a:5:{s:6:"medium";a:4:{s:4:"file";s:40:"hardesty_pic1-e1445879718960-336x211.png";s:5:"width";i:336;s:6:"height";i:211;s:9:"mime-type";s:9:"image/png";}s:9:"thumbnail";a:4:{s:4:"file";s:40:"hardesty_pic1-e1445879718960-140x140.png";s:5:"width";i:140;s:6:"height";i:140;s:9:"mime-type";s:9:"image/png";}s:9:"wbhm-icon";a:4:{s:4:"file";s:38:"hardesty_pic1-e1445879718960-80x80.png";s:5:"width";i:80;s:6:"height";i:80;s:9:"mime-type";s:9:"image/png";}s:22:"wbhm-featured-carousel";a:4:{s:4:"file";s:40:"hardesty_pic1-e1445879718960-421x265.png";s:5:"width";i:421;s:6:"height";i:265;s:9:"mime-type";s:9:"image/png";}s:14:"post-thumbnail";a:4:{s:4:"file";s:40:"hardesty_pic1-e1445879718960-125x125.png";s:5:"width";i:125;s:6:"height";i:125;s:9:"mime-type";s:9:"image/png";}}s:10:"image_meta";a:12:{s:8:"aperture";s:1:"0";s:6:"credit";s:0:"";s:6:"camera";s:0:"";s:7:"caption";s:0:"";s:17:"created_timestamp";s:1:"0";s:9:"copyright";s:0:"";s:12:"focal_length";s:1:"0";s:3:"iso";s:1:"0";s:13:"shutter_speed";s:1:"0";s:5:"title";s:0:"";s:11:"orientation";s:1:"0";s:8:"keywords";a:0:{}}}
        )

    [_wp_attachment_backup_sizes] => Array
        (
            [0] => a:7:{s:9:"full-orig";a:3:{s:5:"width";i:480;s:6:"height";i:438;s:4:"file";s:17:"hardesty_pic1.png";}s:14:"thumbnail-orig";a:4:{s:4:"file";s:25:"hardesty_pic1-140x140.png";s:5:"width";i:140;s:6:"height";i:140;s:9:"mime-type";s:9:"image/png";}s:11:"medium-orig";a:4:{s:4:"file";s:25:"hardesty_pic1-336x307.png";s:5:"width";i:336;s:6:"height";i:307;s:9:"mime-type";s:9:"image/png";}s:18:"wbhm-featured-orig";a:4:{s:4:"file";s:25:"hardesty_pic1-370x338.png";s:5:"width";i:370;s:6:"height";i:338;s:9:"mime-type";s:9:"image/png";}s:23:"wbhm-featured-home-orig";a:4:{s:4:"file";s:25:"hardesty_pic1-341x311.png";s:5:"width";i:341;s:6:"height";i:311;s:9:"mime-type";s:9:"image/png";}s:27:"wbhm-featured-carousel-orig";a:4:{s:4:"file";s:25:"hardesty_pic1-290x265.png";s:5:"width";i:290;s:6:"height";i:265;s:9:"mime-type";s:9:"image/png";}s:19:"post-thumbnail-orig";a:4:{s:4:"file";s:25:"hardesty_pic1-125x125.png";s:5:"width";i:125;s:6:"height";i:125;s:9:"mime-type";s:9:"image/png";}}
        )

    [_imagify_optimization_level] => Array
        (
            [0] => 1
        )

    [_imagify_data] => Array
        (
            [0] => a:2:{s:5:"stats";a:3:{s:13:"original_size";i:905582;s:14:"optimized_size";i:348821;s:7:"percent";d:61.479999999999997;}s:5:"sizes";a:7:{s:4:"full";a:5:{s:7:"success";b:1;s:8:"file_url";s:68:"https://news.wbhm.org/media/2015/10/hardesty_pic1-e1445879718960.png";s:13:"original_size";i:284823;s:14:"optimized_size";i:108957;s:7:"percent";d:61.75;}s:9:"thumbnail";a:5:{s:7:"success";b:1;s:8:"file_url";s:76:"https://news.wbhm.org/media/2015/10/hardesty_pic1-e1445879718960-140x140.png";s:13:"original_size";i:44652;s:14:"optimized_size";i:16770;s:7:"percent";d:62.439999999999998;}s:6:"medium";a:5:{s:7:"success";b:1;s:8:"file_url";s:76:"https://news.wbhm.org/media/2015/10/hardesty_pic1-e1445879718960-336x211.png";s:13:"original_size";i:145048;s:14:"optimized_size";i:56514;s:7:"percent";d:61.039999999999999;}s:9:"wbhm-icon";a:5:{s:7:"success";b:1;s:8:"file_url";s:74:"https://news.wbhm.org/media/2015/10/hardesty_pic1-e1445879718960-80x80.png";s:13:"original_size";i:16237;s:14:"optimized_size";i:6600;s:7:"percent";d:59.350000000000001;}s:20:"wbhm-featured-square";a:5:{s:7:"success";b:1;s:8:"file_url";s:76:"https://news.wbhm.org/media/2015/10/hardesty_pic1-e1445879718960-300x300.png";s:13:"original_size";i:164876;s:14:"optimized_size";i:62329;s:7:"percent";d:62.200000000000003;}s:22:"wbhm-featured-carousel";a:5:{s:7:"success";b:1;s:8:"file_url";s:76:"https://news.wbhm.org/media/2015/10/hardesty_pic1-e1445879718960-421x265.png";s:13:"original_size";i:213391;s:14:"optimized_size";i:83907;s:7:"percent";d:60.68;}s:14:"post-thumbnail";a:5:{s:7:"success";b:1;s:8:"file_url";s:76:"https://news.wbhm.org/media/2015/10/hardesty_pic1-e1445879718960-125x125.png";s:13:"original_size";i:36555;s:14:"optimized_size";i:13744;s:7:"percent";d:62.399999999999999;}}}
        )

    [_imagify_status] => Array
        (
            [0] => success
        )

    [_media_credit] => Array
        (
            [0] => 
        )

    [_navis_media_credit_org] => Array
        (
            [0] => 
        )

    [_navis_media_can_distribute] => Array
        (
            [0] => 1
        )

)
1677079003 
1445842124

Jerri Hardesty

Emotion often fuels poetry.  Sometimes though that emotion is so personal it’s like being let into a secret space.  That’s the way it is with poems we’ll hear from Jerri Hardesty. She’s president of the Alabama State Poetry Society.  She’s won more than 600 awards and titles for both written and spoken word poetry.  Hardesty talks to WBHM’s Michael Krall and she begins with a piece called “This Poem.”  (A word of caution – the material is not suitable for children.)

Hardesty along with her husband Kirk, runs the nonprofit organization, New Dawn Unlimited, Inc., dedicated to poetry publishing, production, performance, promotion, preservation, and education.

Hardesty and with other poets will perform at the BamaSlam Montevallo Poetry Slam at Eclipse Coffee and Books on Friday, November 13, at 9 p.m.


“This Poem” by Jerri Hardesty:


“Stargazing” by Jerri Hardesty:

 

Team USA faces tough Canadian squad in Olympic gold medal hockey game

In the first Olympics with stars of the NHL competing in over a decade, a talent-packed Team USA faces a tough test against Canada.

PHOTOS: Your car has a lot to say about who you are

Photographer Martin Roemer visited 22 countries — from the U.S. to Senegal to India — to show how our identities are connected to our mode of transportation.

Looking for life purpose? Start with building social ties

Research shows that having a sense of purpose can lower stress levels and boost our mental health. Finding meaning may not have to be an ambitious project.

Danish military evacuates US submariner who needed urgent medical care off Greenland

Denmark's military says its arctic command forces evacuated a crew member of a U.S. submarine off the coast of Greenland for urgent medical treatment.

Only a fraction of House seats are competitive. Redistricting is driving that lower

Primary voters in a small number of districts play an outsized role in deciding who wins Congress. The Trump-initiated mid-decade redistricting is driving that number of competitive seats even lower.

Homeland Security suspends TSA PreCheck and Global Entry airport security programs

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security is suspending the TSA PreCheck and Global Entry airport security programs as a partial government shutdown continues.

More Arts and Culture Coverage