Using the Sounds of Poetry to Connect to Your Soul

The Florida Writer Podcast

Poetry is a powerful medium for emotional exploration, self-discovery, and healing. Through writing or reading, the artistic expression of pain, growth, and resilience can be transformative and nurturing to the soul. In this Florida Writer Podcast, host Alison Nissen and poet Nylda Dieppa chat about how poetry helps her make sense of life’s complicated lessons.

Nylda Dieppa is a poet, writer, facilitator, mother of five, and grandmother of six. She started dreaming of changing the world when she discovered words. Learning to read at three years old, she’s loved literature and art since. Nylda was born in Indianapolis, IN, raised in Puerto Rico, and lives in Orlando, FL with a sweet pup called Canela. She has a Master’s in Pastoral Studies from Loyola University, New Orleans, a degree in Fashion Design from Fashion Institute of Technology, and postgraduate work towards a Ph.D. in Intercultural Theology.

Dieppa is the author of Alborada: A Poetic Memoir Across Cultures, which won a Royal Palms Award from the Florida Writers Association in 2015 and a 2016 International Latino Book Award for its cover illustration inspired by Nylda’s original pastel drawing. Orange Blossom Publishing published the second, enhanced edition in May 2023, under the new title Alborada: A Cross-Cultural Memoir in Poetry. Her work has been published in Cadence, “Of Poets and Writers,” “Somos en Escrito,” “La Respuesta,” and “America” magazines. She has read her work at various venues including The Ear Club, Medgar Evers College, and The Cornelia Street Cafe in New York City, the Polasek Museum in Winter Park, Florida, and Casa Aboy in San Juan, Puerto Rico.

Nylda Dieppa is the Vice-President of the Florida Writers Foundation, a literacy-promoting nonprofit. She nurtures a community of creatives reawakening society through her website nyldadieppa.com and newsletter “Word Sketches.” Alborada: A Cross-Cultural Memoir in Poetry is available at Orange Blossom Books as well as on Amazon and Barnes and Noble.