chyrel jackson

On this episode of Black & Published, Nikesha speaks with Chicago area sisters Chyrel Jackson and Lyris Wallace, who wrote the poetry collections Different Sides of the Same Coin and Mirrored Images. The sisters said they came to their love of writing from their love of reading authors and poets like Nikki Giovanni, Sonia Sanchez, Terri McMillan and more. 

Episode Notes
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On this episode of Black & Published, Nikesha speaks with Chicago area sisters Chyrel Jackson and Lyris Wallace, who wrote the poetry collections Different Sides of the Same Coin and Mirrored Images. The sisters said they came to their love of writing from their love of reading authors and poets like Nikki Giovanni, Sonia Sanchez, Terri McMillan and more. 

During the discussion, the sisters open up about the pushback they received from publishers that forced them to go indie, the importance of not being white-washed and owning their own narrative, and the healing in hearing Black language whether it's spoken or sung. 

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Audra Russell chats with authors and poets Chyrel Jackson and Lyris Wallace.

Chyrel J. Jackson and Lyris D. Wallace are avid lovers, readers and writers of African American Literature. They grew up in a Southern Suburb of Chicago, IL. Country Club Hills. As young girls they read Nancy Drew, Hardy Boys, and Judy Blume novels. College was the real scholastic awakening introducing these two Literary Enthusiasts to the Literary works of their great ancestors: James Baldwin, Toni Morrison, Maya Angelou and others. These writers influenced Chyrel and Lyris so much, it only makes sense that they would now be writing in the Spirit of these ancestors and giving a voice to social issues that plague our modern time.
Their latest self-published work a book of poetry is Different Sides of the Same Coin. It is a modern and sassy collage of poetry as experienced from the Black female perspective of two sisters and authors. This timeless collection of poems is a refreshing, soul-searing and heartwarming work of new age black voice and spoken word. Black Expression has never been more vibrant, relevant and real. In this anthology of poems it is Harlem Renaissance revisited as it collides with 2020 social struggles and conditions of our current time.

Writers are born when life intersects with time and chance. You will always find them doing what they love reading, and writing. Writing, and telling stories is how they fulfill their divine purpose. You can’t ignore what is so visible and undeniable. Writing saved us at our lowest points in living. We hope to provide healing through our writing. We want to uplift others through their pain as writing has uplifted us and provided great healing in time of profound despair and hurt. Throughout the passage of time words remain.

We have a heartfelt talk about their book of poetry, Different Sides of the Same Coin. We laugh, I cry, and we bond.

You can learn more about these beautiful sistahs, buy their books, and get their social media info at www.sistersrocnrhyme.com.

So grab your favorite beverage, sit back, and enjoy...and maybe grab some tissues.

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