The Poets Speak: Our Sold-Out Narrative Theater Performance

5 days ago
5 min read

*Radiance Talley performing her original poetry next to Dr. Barbara Talley at The Poets Speak's sold-out narrative theater performance.*

As an avid theater fan, I have held many playbills in my hand as I excitedly awaited to witness a Broadway play that would immerse me into another world—world-class acting, mesmerizing vocals, and melodies I would find myself humming for weeks after. Broadway's talents and stories have always enchanted me.

The Poets Speak's First Playbill Featuring Radiance and Barbara Talley — *The Poets Speak's First Playbill*

I never expected to see my own name on a playbill, so imagine my excitement when playbills were created for mine and my mother's poetic narrative theater.

On May 24, 2026, my mother, Dr. Barbara Talley, and I shared the stage together in our debut performance under our new publishing and speaking company, The Poets Speak—one you can learn more about at ThePoetsSpeak.com. We sold out weeks in advance. We walked into a full house, and the feedback we got was deeply meaningful and moving.

The Original Poetry We Performed and the History We Shared

*Dr. Barbara Talley speaking next to Radiance Talley at The Poets Speak's sold-out narrative theater performance.*

The performance was structured as a narrative arc—not just a poetry recital, but a conversation between our original poems. We opened with an exploration of identity and reclamation, tracing how colonization created caste systems across the globe and how none of us chose the circumstances we were born into.

My mother recited her poem "Colored People," a poem she wrote in middle school about names, racial classifications, and fighting for the right to choose how she wanted to be called. Then I performed "The Lottery of Birth"—a poem I wrote over a year and a half ago on a plane ride as I contemplated the dimensions of human existence while thinking of how differently we all fare—and she followed with "Love and Hate," a poem she wrote decades ago that could have been written yesterday.

From there, we moved into the cost of silence. We talked about the privilege of willful ignorance and why choosing to stay indifferent in the face of injustice is not neutrality, it's complicity. I performed "Ignorance is a Choice," and she answered with "Get in the Ring."

[You can hear us perform these poems in our interview with Rainn Wilson—watch it on the Poetry page at RadianceTalley.com and ThePoetsSpeak.com.]

Then we got even more personal.

I shared how years of being gaslit, tone policed, and silenced in spaces that were supposed to be safe had taught me to disappear inside myself—to dissociate, to show up physically while checking out mentally. I learned that in order to be accepted in certain spaces, I had to suppress my pain with the cruelty and discrimination I was experiencing and the brutal oppression in the wider society that those people did not want to be reminded of when I wrote "The Mask" years ago. She responded with her poem "Excuse Me, Please"—an empathic response for all the women of color who have gotten sick from not being able to show up authentically.

The Conversations That Our Poetic Narrative Theater Inspired

The conversations after the performance stayed with me just as much as the performance itself. People remarked about how relevant and timely what we shared was for what so many people are going through right now—that they left reflecting, processing, and sitting with things they had not named before.

Several women came up to me and said they resonated with my poem about the mask. They knew what it felt like to smile through pain and to dissociate just to survive a room or a relationship. One woman said my poem made her realize something she had never considered before: wearing the mask is a choice—and that she now had the awareness to choose differently.

A white woman told me privately that she never had to wear a mask. Truly sitting with that—what it means to never have to suppress your pain and to move through every space as your full, transparent, and unfiltered self without consequence—helped her see a layer of privilege she didn't realize she had.

May is Mental Health Awareness Month, and it felt like exactly the right time to have these necessary conversations.

What the Audience Said About Our Poetic Narrative Theater

*The Poets Speak's audience at the Sandy Spring Museum.*

When asked what resonated most with them about the performance, audience members wrote:

"A phenomenal pair, ready with truth and power and the means to deliver it in a way that awakens the soul and the spirit."

“I loved the historical relevance that was incorporated with their personal history and punctuated by their poetry."

When asked what they would say to anyone considering bringing us in to speak, train, or perform, attendees wrote:

“Dr. T and Radiance are a powerful mother-daughter duo whose poetic voices are both necessary and unforgettable. They have a rare gift for guiding audiences through difficult and uncomfortable topics, including racism, with honesty, grace, education, and artistry. Their chemistry is beautiful, joyful, and deeply moving to witness. They do more than perform; they create space for reflection, healing, conversation, and transformation. I strongly recommend them for any organization, school, community, or sponsor seeking a meaningful, engaging and impactful experience.”

"If you want to sponsor an event that will have the audience provoked into deep thoughts and emotions and walk away feeling as though their entire existence has been enhanced, invite these two vessels of God's love and light. Their energy alone are forces to be reckoned with, but the things they write and talk about are relatable to everyone present. It's not a performance, it's an experience."

Individually, attendees wrote to each of us.

To my mother, Dr. Barbara Talley:

“As always my favorite poem always hits me right in the heart, but the rendition of the mask was gut-wrenching.”

"The things you write about are powerful in and of themselves, but you reciting them breathes life into them. You have a way of snatching one's attention and keeping it. I always walk away feeling consumed in thought and feelings."

To me:

“Your delicate but radiant delivery of your mask and other poems touched my very soul, you are the embodiment of things we wish to say but cannot find the words.”

"You are so RADIANT!! When you share your poems, I feel so connected to you and cherish the gift. You light up when immersed in your words and they reflect the depth of your insight into humanity. I feel so privileged to know you and watch you as you make a difference in the lives you touch. I can't wait to see what's next!!"

What Comes Next for The Poets Speak

The Poets Speak is available for educational and poetic narrative theater performances, book signings for our upcoming books, speaking engagements, workshops, and training for organizations, conferences, universities, and community gatherings on a variety of topics related to truth, justice, healing, and hope. If last weekend showed us anything, it is that people are ready for and in need of this conversation—and that poetry is one of the most powerful vehicles for getting there.

To bring The Poets Speak to your audience, visit ThePoetsSpeak.com. To stay connected with my writing, speaking, and upcoming work, you are in the right place at RadianceTalley.com.