I Feel I’ve Always Been a Writer
Xianna on how she began writing as a very young girl, with poetry, then as now, her primary medium of expression.
Writing While Walking
Xianna talks about how story ideas and lines of poetry come through her on her morning walks. Includes shots of her walking in her Los Angeles neighborhood.
How Stories Inspire
Xianna talks about people being touched by her work, often in ways that surprise her, and how stories and poems inspire us all.
Bringing Light into the World
Xianna on how she wants her work to bring joy into the world, hoping it will uplift her readers in some meaningful way.
Composing Poems
Xianna on writing poems and how each one is an expression of pure essence in which every word must count.
The Inner Meaning of Stories
Xianna on how stories sometimes seem to spin out of her, with just a line becoming a story with a deeper meaning.
Constraints Spark Creativity
Xianna on her belief that traditional poetic structures such as meter and rhyme bring a kind of magic to her writing process.
Mindel and the Misfit Dragons
Xianna reads from her children’s book about Mindel and her special dragons, a labor of love for her grandchildren.
Lily of the Valley
Xianna talks about her verse novella, with its five generations of Jewish women, beginning in Eastern Europe, coming to America and ultimately to California today.
The Alchemy of Illuminated Poetry®, Part 1
Xianna demonstrates part of the process described in her book, including some of the drawings and meditative writing. Part 1 of a 2-part film.
The Alchemy of Illuminated Poetry®, Part 2
The second part of this small film in which Xianna talks further about the book and the meditative poetry writing process she developed.
The Sorcerer Queen
Xianna, perched in her favorite walnut tree, reads from her young adult fairy tale.
A Poetry Reading
In the entryway of her old Spanish hacienda, Xianna reads a number of her poems, including some in the genre of healing song.
Xoems®
Xianna discusses the Xoem®, her original, trademarked short verse form, and reads some favorites.
Xianna in Contemplation
Xianna in a silent interlude at home.
Video Credits:
Producer/Director/Camera— Sam Epstein
Producer/Second Camera/ Sound—Anath White
Editor—Gillian Hutshing