Welcome to Relevant Sense
Shondra Bowie Riley invites you to witness her feelings and experiences through candid, evocative—and sometimes playful—poetry and storytelling.
Hi, I’m Shondra
I’ve been a pirate and a robot. I’ve lived on three continents, in four countries and ten cities. I’ve had two husbands, one child and two strokes. I’m a disabled, feminist African American woman living in Scotland.
It’s fair to say I have many stories to tell from the perspective of a multi-pronged intersection.
Relevant Sense is written in the spirit of those who feel erased or ignored by traditional mainstream narratives. Here you’ll find:
Weekly Poetry - original and curated pieces (written and read aloud)
Monthly Short story or essay - about places, people and events that shaped me
Monthly Reviews - on how things land for me. Don’t look at me like that, Saltburn!
I started writing at age 50 to process complex feelings, reframe traumatic events, and memorialise the people and places that have had a lasting impact on me. By sharing my experiences with you, I aim to cultivate empathy, awareness, and connection.
So, about the pirate and robot thing…
In the 1990s, I was a DJ on legendary Los Angeles pirate radio station, KBLT and the first ever resident DJ at Akbar, Silverlake.
When I had strokes after childbirth, my recovery included wearing a device on my arm to move the muscles in my hand (pictured). I felt like the Terminator. I was also fitted with a Functional Electrical Stimulation device to activate the muscles in my leg. Thus, a robot.
My published writing
On the blog and digital magazine True & Woke, I wrote articles on equity, climate change, gender-based violence, and personal essays on living with a disability. I have also been published on Heroica. and ‘Rooms of Our Own: The Lockdown House’
My portrait and spoken word formed part of photographer Nikki Kilburn’s ‘Our Voices’ project, exhibited online at the 2020 Scottish Mental Health Arts Festival and at Edinburgh’s Fruitmarket.
Visit the About page to read my full bio
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