Standing Steady, my fourth full-length original album, was released in February of 2025. Along with the album, I released a chapbook that includes the poems that inspired the album, the lyrics of each song, and a little bit about the inspiration behind the writing process. Sprinkled among the pages are illustrations by artist Angela Boyle, and the cover art, the same as the album cover, is a wood-block print of an owl created by Anita K. Boyle. 

Multiple experiences inspired me to create this album and adjoining chapbook. A dare from a stranger, a collaboration for a songwriting book club (Bushwick Bookclub Seattle), but the main influence seems to be from much further back in my history. Growing up surrounded by creative, inspiring, supportive family members. A couple of which are featured in this project.

In the next few posts, I will share the inspiration behind the songs on the album. Have a listen or grab your copy!

The Woman Who Collaborates

For many of the songs on Standing Steady, I explored chapbooks that my family and I have collected over the years. I read through each of them, selecting poems for inspiration. Some poems seemed to leap off the page as potential lyrics, needing no changes to their original structure. Others conveyed inspiring messages, prompting me to write entirely new lyrics. “The Woman Who Collaborates” stood out as one whose structure could be translated easily into song lyrics. It has a natural progression, with its meaning developing and building throughout the sections.

I decided to keep James Bertolino's words exactly as he wrote them and used the same chord progression throughout. This choice allowed me to emphasize the lyrics and story while giving me the freedom to experiment with the melody and phrasing.

James Bertolino is the author of 30 books and chapbooks of poetry and prose, beginning in 1968 with two chapbooks, Day of Change and Drool. He was widely published from early on in his career, and over the years his work has appeared in more than 100 magazines and more than 40 anthologies. As an editor he co-founded the literary journal Abraxas and the Cincinnati Poetry Review, as well as sitting on the editorial board of Ithaca House. In 1972 he founded Stone Marrow Press, which published his own work as well as other poets' work. He co-founded Egress Studio Press with Anita K. Boyle in 2002.