One woman's journey from poet to lyricist

For decades, 80-year-old Kathleen Flaherty Denizard of Dartmouth has written poetry based on her life experiences, and now, her poems are taking on a new life of their own by being turned into songs.

The project began several months ago when Jay Carney of Starburst Records, an indie record label that represents 62 artists in 10 countries, approached Denizard with an idea: why not create an album using her poems.

Denizard said she found the idea “very exciting” because she was used to her poems, some of which have achieved national acclaim, being read rather than sung.

“Music reaches everybody so universally,” she said.

Called “Venial Sin,” the album features 12 songs based on poems Denizard published in her book “Rueful.”

All 12 songs feature lyrics taken directly from the poems.

Denizard said she was “blown away” when she first heard her poems transformed into songs.

“It’s a real trip,” she said.

Using her life as inspiration, Denizard said each poem reflects a different time in her life as she was “walking through time.”

“On Their Corner of the Street,” for example, was written after she spent some time in the Caribbean and “Subway” was written off of experiences she had in New York City.

“Venial Sin” doesn’t stick to just one music genre, with each poem dictating whether the song will be rhythm and blues, hip hop, rap or something else.

“On Their Corner of the Street,” for instance, is a reggae piece and a song titled “Winter Wreath” is a lighter, more musical song.

Carney made most of the decisions when it came to the genre of each song, which varied based on what he thought each poem called for.

Denizard explained that she was presented with various versions of each song in a different genre to choose from but ultimately deferred to Carney, who she said had a better idea of what would be more popular.

“The words and music are hitting now because they’re modern,” she said, noting, “We won’t have to go back in time to the Elizabethan era.”

The process of transforming poems into songs isn’t a simple one, Denizard said, noting that it “can be very intense.”

She added that it’s also “a lot of fun,” especially when the team comes together for the final take.

“Wrapping one up is a sense of accomplishment,” she said. “The next joy is putting it out there.”

Denizard said that the album is “globally flying out,” with it appearing on more than 25 platforms, including Spotify and Apple Music.

The journey didn't end when the album was released in early September, with the team currently working on music videos, which Denizard said is really bringing her poetry to life.

Denizard said she was “pleasantly surprised” by which poems Carney chose to create music videos for.

“Those words take on such animation,” she said. “[They] see the words as I saw them.”

Denizard and the production team are  also currently working on 13 new songs that will feature poems from another one of Denizard’s books of poetry called “Echoes of Now.”

“We’re just getting started,” she said.