Biography

Scylla Liscombe is a poet, dancer, and artist. Born in Boston, Massachusetts, she majored in dance at Radford University (Va.) and now lives in Sarasota, Florida.

Ms. Liscombe is a recording artist and one of the few poets in the country working in the ancient, spontaneous, oral mode of composition to music. She is the originator, along with Justin Spring, of SOULSPEAK a contemporary version of the ancient oral poetry used by all cultures prior to reading and writing. In 1992 they co-founded a non-profit organization, the SARASOTA POETRY THEATRE, which ultimately evolved into SOULSPEAK/SOULMOVES and was dedicated to spontaneous and collaborative poetry, dance, and art. Ms. Liscombe served as managing and executive director for 18 years, and as an adjunct to the organization, she initiated the Sarasota Poetry Theatre Press and served as editor publishing over 40 titles.

She is the founder (2004), director, and costume designer of SOULMOVES and the SOULMOVES ENSEMBLE, which promote spontaneous movement and dance that expresses the mood of the moment using mask and costume. Ms. Liscombe also creates unique mixed-media art works.

Featured Poetry Performances
Stage—Amherst College, Bard College, Eckerd College, Nuyorican Cafe, Prodigal Son, Third Rail Lounge Boston, University of Mass/Dartmouth, Bennington College, Holy Cross College, Sarah Lawrence College, Salem College, Yakkety Jazz Festival, and others.
CD Albums—Gathering Smoke, Speakings, Nursery Raps, I’m Talkin’ to You Oprah, Witnesses Log, In Your Mind, Poetry of the Women of Sarasota, and River.
Art Videos—Soul Exposures, More Poetry in Three Dimensions, Fractal Poetry, SOULSPEAK: The Outward Journey of the Soul, Poets and Painters Paint Poetry, Poetry of the Women of Sarasota.

Poetry Programs
Ms. Liscombe served as assistant director in therapeutic programs (1995—2007) for SOULSPEAK/SOULMOVES using a specialized version of SOULSPEAK poetry that allows anyone to easily express deep emotions in a beautiful, healing way. Over 3,500 at-risk children and adults participated in these long term SOULSPEAK programs at organizations such as Gulf Coast Marine Institute; Cyesis Teen Parent Program; YMCA Character House; Florida Sheriffs Youth Ranches; Beacon House Mental Health; Tammi House for Recovering Alcoholics; Family Counseling Center; Coastal Behavioral Health Care; and TideWell Hospice and Palliative Care.

Poetry Editor
Since 1996 Ms. Liscombe has edited and published: 21 poets including Dana Curtis, Jessica Jordan Nudel, Madelon Sprengnether, and Adrianne Kalfoupoulou (Greece); 21 titles from therapeutic SOULSPEAK programs (at-risk children and adults); and two anthologies of at-risk populations, for the Sarasota Poetry Theatre Press. She has chaired over 35 local and national poetry competitions including the Sarasota Poetry Theatre Chapbook Competition, Animals in Poetry Anthology Competition, Edda Poetry Chapbook Competition for Women, and numerous young poet competitions.

Featured Dance Performances
Stage—art galleries, theatres, festivals, and events, including Sarasota Film Festival, Festival Diapente, Fuzion Dance Artists, Theatre Odyssey, White on State, Arts Tonight.
Art Videos—More Poetry in Three Dimension, Audio/Visual Poems #1 and #2, Soul Exposures, and Poetry of the Women of Sarasota.

Visual Art
Ms. Liscombe’s multi-media visual art has appeared at the Longboat Key Art Center, Art Center Sarasota, Unity Church, Center for Arts & Humanities, in magazines and in private collections.

Honors
1996 Sirius Award for Oral Poetry, Tampa Bay Poetry Council
2003 Images of Voices and Hope
2003 Point of Life Award for Excellence