A Transcendent Book of Poetry 

“If courage is a tangible, durable, and renewable resource, it comes directly from the sources of spirit that Tiyi Schippers identifies in these poems—the living world dancing around us, the ancestors and all whom we love, our own deep wellspring of soul and awareness. She has thought deeply about how hearts born of thunder/grow stronger and harder/even torn asunder and urges us to celebrate fleeting but abundant manifestations of spirit--a bird flashing by the window/the flick of a squirrel’s tail/brief, bright sun amid thick clouds/the sound of the back door/ … /in the seconds before/love enters the room. Grief for her is a living thing but she has learned from it/we rise/in poetry/in song/in art. This is a book you will want to keep by your side, one that invites the reader to welcome the sacred … into spark.”
—Ruelaine Stokes, poet & spoken word artist, author of Jar of Plenty

Antoinette M. (Tiyi) Schippers is an artist, writer, storyteller, and spirit medium who lives in northern Michigan. She is both a poet and a novelist whose debut work, Beyond Brick and Bone, was nominated for the Michigan Notable Book Award in 2020. Tiyi earned a BA in Elementary Education with a minor in English language arts from Michigan State Univer- sity, then taught for forty years. She is a well known Michigan songwriter whose songs have been performed and recorded by numerous artists.
Tiyi comes from a family culture rich in spirit. Her moth- er’s family was part of The Great Migration, escaping the Jim Crow south in New Orleans, to “passe blanc” north to Chicago, bringing with them memories of Hoodoo and Creole root- work. Her father’s family culture was steeped in Irish lore with an open acknowledgment of things that lie beyond corporeal reality. This combination made it not only possible, but inev- itable for Tiyi to experience, acknowledge, and nurture her ability to connect with spirit.
Tiyi and her husband delight in four grown children and five grandchildren. She is active in her community serving on several boards as well as serving as Mayor Pro Tem in the city of Cadillac.
Photo by David Bunce

Paperback • $15.95 •  978-1-62491-189-7
​256 Pages @ 6” x 9”
E-book • $10.95• 978-1-62491-190-3
Ages 13 and Up

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