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“Chavah’s Daughters Speak”: poems of OVISS sister in concert
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February 8, 2024Music, words, poetry. For Sister Lou Ella Hickman, OVISS, this goes hand in hand with the life-giving message she received through the Gospel and her community. Sr. Lou Ella, a former teacher and librarian, started writing poetry in junior high. Decades later, her poems have appeared in numerous magazines such as America, First Things and Emmanuel.
After retiring from teaching, she had more time to write and was thinking of publishing some of her works when she got a phone call from her poetry editor, Tom Lombardo, from Press 35. “I had planned on sending him the manuscript I had written about several Biblical women sometime in the future. His voice brightened. ‘I'm interested. Send them to me.’”
Weeks later, she got a phone call. He wanted more poems — some 60 to 80 more! She remembers thinking, "You want how many more?" Over the next six months, Sr. Lou Ellen concluded her writing, and her book, she: robed and wordless, was published in 2015.
Six years later, “the miracle of the book.,” as the sister calls it, happened: “James Lee III, a young composer, wanted to use some of my poems for his compositions.” She gave him permission, and the world premiere occurred in New York. Since there were still Covid restrictions, only a few visitors could attend the concert, and she watched a live stream.
However, this was only the beginning: a concert in Cleveland, Ohio followed, where Sr. Lou Ellen could attend in person, and recently, the Philadelphia Chamber Society sponsored a concert featuring James Lee, III’s work for piano, Soprano, and clarinet.
“Everything fell into place,” says Sr. Lou Ella. She made her first vows 52 years ago. Growing up in a Methodist family in Brownsville, she loved to sing in the church choir, and her interest in poetry started in middle school. In high school, she became Catholic and discerned her vocation during college.
Now she has another dream – bringing a performance of James Lee, III’s work to Corpus Christi. Who knows – another “miracle of the book” might happen soon.