“U-Meleni Mhlaba-Adebo is a wonderful poet who writes with a passionate ferocity, a strident generosity of spirit. She writes movingly of family, of childhood in her native Zimbabwe, the hurts and injuries of love; she confronts head-on the power and complexity of women’s sexuality, and urges resistance to the ever-present possibility of personal oppression. Her Soul Psalms are, indeed, psalms—also songs, poems, chants, passionate incantations in a fearless female voice—a voice at once strident, sometimes angry, but always passionate and tempered with optimism and the healing possibilities of love.”
—David Updike, author of Old Girlfriends
“Raw and powerful, deep yet concise, full of aching, sexy love and cutting pain. These poems are the very essence of life—an essence you can practically taste as you read U-Meleni Mhlaba-Adebo’s work. She is a poet who writes with, and embodies, proud beauty.”
—Rivka Solomon, writer, playwright, and founder/director of That Takes Ovaries
“U-Meleni Mhlaba-Adebo’s poetic word is a powerful exclamation of raw and tender emotions that we often conceal. Thus, it is a futuristic return to the poetic elegance with which Africa’s griots preserved emotional truths of their times. Here is a poet who captures the emotional truths of being straddled between continents and generations with an ancient wisdom.”
—Donald Molosi, award-winning playwright and director, found of the Folk Tale Theatre Company
“U-Meleni Mhlaba-Adebo (a beautiful woman . . . a beautiful soul) is a breath of fresh air, a woman who defines what it is to have soul. I find Soul Psalms both soothing and triumphant—an honest celebration of making it through, and much-needed poetry that one can honestly look to for comfort, love, and strength, silently shouting “Amen!” over and over again. Each poem takes you on a journey that is visual and moving. Her words form together in a magical way that allows you to see, feel, touch, and smell the world in which they live. She is a gift and voice needed that speaks for us when we cannot articulate our struggles.”
—Jacqui Parker, Elliot Norton Award–winning playwright and artistic director of Our Place Theatre Project
“Soul Psalms is a therapeutic collection of poems written by the insightful and inspiring poet U-Meleni Mhlaba-Adebo. This collection is beautifully transparent and awakens insight into the various stages and challenges of identity development. Mhlaba-Adebo’s poetic voice is raw, unique, precise, and engaging. Each piece stands alone in its capacity to provoke thought and stir emotions, and taken together the collection carries the reader on an empowering journey. I loved the integration of spiritual, cultural, gender, and psychological themes, and believe these poems speak to the human capacity for resilience and growth.”
—Dr. Thema Bryant-Davis, psychologist and author of Thriving in the Wake of Trauma: A Multicultural Guide
“Powerful . . . U-Meleni Mhlaba-Adebo transforms her many paths of life into a poetic prayer.”
—Jean Dany Joachim, award-winning poet