Journeying in the Marvelous.

“Life is a deep dive. Initiatory experiences happen to us all the time. The question is — will we be accompanied on our journeys or confirmed when we return?….” — Judith-Kate Friedman
Oral Tradition stories and songs have guided Judith-Kate’s sense of kinship all her life. Singing, discovering and then writing songs, ever curious about Time’s great mystery, music helped her way-find through a rocky urban childhood (and since). Fortunately, those early edgy places became teachers of courage—because, as for so many of us, courage was required. Having found that proximity to many unusual and unexpected things and people, along with causes of justice and the beauty of the Living World made her well up and sing—with joy, grief, laughter, sheer wonder….. Judith-Kate started singing for others as a child. And so it still is.

The poet William Stafford talks of a “thread” we follow.
Like the tapestry yarns in her work, and these pages, Judith-Kate has followed and found, persistent, plucky, insistent strands of confidence.
Somewhat like those young girls carry in old tales. Or the curious callings that weaves and puzzle us, offering invitations, insisting on our attention, even devotion, and sometimes granting rewards, often after traversing real dangers. Her paths have snaked through Manhattan’s Lower East Side, Western Mass., Oberlin College and Conservatory in the Ohio heartland, London, Italy, Israel, Indonesia, San Francisco, Oakland, Berkeley, and most recently deep into the quite in the remote rural Pacific Northwest she now calls home.

Here are some of the journeys Judith-Kate is on this year, with invitations for you to join in:

• New Songs Weekly. As part of a great group of writers taking up the #REAL PEOPLE, REAL SONGS challenge, I’ll be “dropping” a new song each week at least through March. You can tune into all of our new music daily on Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, and TikTok.

• Coaching Cohorts and Individuals. If creative camaraderie is what you seek, check out the “Skilled Yet Thirsty” and “Seasoned and Staying Amazed” cohorts here. Find/Free Your Voice/Vision and Sing/Speak Your Truth with individual coaching here.

• Songwriting Works’ is 35 years old this year! The non-profit charitable organization is poised for a renaissance. Stay Tuned!

• The Mythsinger Legacy Project (MLP) — Stories and Songs: MLP is keeping alive the work of Judith-Kate’s belated beloved Daniel Deardorff (1952-2019), musician, songwriter, mythteller, author, ritualist, and revered teacher. She hosts StoryNights around the Virtual Hearth online on the last Wednesday of every quarter. Save the dates: March 26, June 25, September 24, and a December date TBD.

THIS MONTH: FEB 12th join us for LOVE DOGS : A concert featuring new love songs and poetry from Judith-Kate and a beautiful live concert video of the evening Daniel and JK swapped Love Songs, many written for each other. Community conversation follows the concert.

Daniel Deardorff’s classic book: The Other Within: The Genius of Deformity in Myth, Culture and Psyche, 3rd ed. (Inner Traditions, 2022) will be explored in book group cohorts later in 2025. Let us know if you’d like to join in a group as we chew (ruminate) on mythic morsels and medicine in this short, labyrinthine book.

• Commission a musical or multi-modal works for any occasions. Contact Judith-Kate about commissions and collaborations.

Elsewhere on this site:
• Judith-Kate’s podcast interviews about myth, story, and my work and life with mythsinger Daniel “3D” Deardorff.

• “Mandorla Rising” - multi-modal gallery for Judith-Kate’s M.A. Poetics of Imagination creative dissertation at Dartington Arts School, UK

• Check the events page, subscribe to receive lo-fi missives, or follow Judith-Kate on social channels for more news.

• Judith-Kate’s poems appear in Arbella Poetry Magazine Winter 21/22 and the London Writers Salon’s Writing in Community anthology #2 (2022), #3 (2023), and #4 (forthcoming).

See you in the beauty!