Listen:
One of my highlights last year was being invited by Alyson Shelton to join a slew of talented professionals to create a version of the popular “Where I’m From” poem. It was such a fun and fulfilling experience (you can see it here on YouTube), that I knew I wanted her to be a guest on the pod. And wow did we have an in-depth, intense and illuminating conversation (everything I love).
In This Episode
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The genesis of her Where I’m From poetry series, inspired by George Ella Lyon’s poem [1:18]
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The importance of specificity when storytelling [8:05]
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How storytelling through poetry and fiction can clarify complex relationships and help heal and process childhood trauma [12:32]
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The difference between writing from the “scar” versus writing from the “wound” [16:19]
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A discussion of anticipatory grief when it comes to estrangement [13:01]
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Tips for writers on channeling difficult emotions into creative works [15:54]
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Alyson’s personal experience towards growth and self-acceptance [17:27]
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Advice for writers on how to have give themselves self-care while writing memoir [26:17]
Watch on YouTube
About Alyson Shelton
Alyson Shelton writes about women across mediums + genres. In the film To Hold The Night she tackles a psychological thriller through fractured realities and self-invention. In her comic Reburn she centers a superpowered and mutli-faceted heroine, and in Eve of Understanding, the award winning feature she wrote and directed, the narrative delves into childhood secrets and their ongoing repercussions. She hosts a weekly Instagram Live series inspired by George Ella Lyon’s poem, Where I’m From, where she’s welcomed over 160 writers and creatives. And her own Where I’m From poem provides the spine for her memoir in essays, currently in revision. Her writing has been published widely at outlets including The New York Times, Ms., The Rumpus and more. She is thrilled to be a contributor to the essay collections, Broken Free: Writers on Estrangement (Forthcoming from Catapult in 2026) and Comics Lit Vol. 1 , to host her podcast, Fine Cut for Femme On Collective and to be co-founding a Sibling Loss community and co-editing an anthology entitled, The Loss of a Lifetime: Advice from Grieving Siblings on Loss, Love and Hope.
Connect with Alyson
Jeannine Ouellette’s episode referenced #103: Launching into New Dimensions with Embodied Writing
Estelle’s Episode of Where I’m From #163
Connect with Estelle Erasmus
Her latest substack Post: My Predictions for Publishing in 2025
Apply to be on Freelance Writing Direct in a coaching episode: email [email protected] and state three of the issues you are dealing with that you would like Estelle’s help with.
Get Writing That Gets Noticed, named a Best Book for Writers by Poets & Writers Magazine.
Order Her Audiobook
Sign up for Estelle’s Substack(for craft advice and writing opportunities). Paid subscribers receive opportunities for pitch reviews, plus bonus clips from Freelance Writing Direct guests. Check out her post on the Editor of The Cut.
Sign up for her Personal Essay Class for Writer’s Digest
Student Work
Congrats to Lottie Joiner for a wonderful essay in Next Avenue Life Lessons from a Zip Line. She first workshopped this piece with me in class several years ago, and I’m so glad she decided to get it published.
This is episode #118 with Julie Pfitzinger, Managing Editor of Next Avenue
So happy to see my Zoom class student Linda Maltz Wolff’s fabulous and humorous piece on grandmothers in The Boston Globe. Brava! (Gift Link)
And my former student Rochelle (who has her poignant piece she published in Next Avenue/PBS cited in my book), Unmuting a Brother-Sister Relationship One Chord at a Time, had a Tiny Love Story, called Gathering Valuables in the New York Times (Gift Link).
NOTE: Estelle’s private small Zoom classes are sold out for March 2025 (they’ve been sold out since November 2024). Her next personal essay 6 week Zoom class will start in May. Email her at [email protected] to secure your spot.
