Join me at 3PM Eastern on Thursday, March 19, for a chat with my dear friend, colleague, and compañero, Dawud Wharnsby, dialing in from Kitchener, Ontario.

Canadian born writer, musician and artisan Dawud Wharnsby began sharing his songs as a street performer in his late teens.  Three decades later, his body of work includes fifteen solo albums, five poetry anthologies, numerous sound-track credits, performances in some of the world’s most celebrated theatres and collaborations with several celebrated artists. He is one third of the interfaith trio Abraham Jam, along with Billy Jonas, and David LaMotte (that's me).

Within sacred-music circles, Wharnsby is cited as a pioneer in the composition of English anasheed, hymns inspired by sufi tradition.  His work has been referenced in textbook publications affiliated with Harvard University in the USA, as well as Oxford University and Cambridge University Press in the United Kingdom. The Royal Islamic Strategic Studies Centre (Jordan) has consistently included Dawud on their annual list of the 500 Most Influential Muslims for his contributions to entertainment and the arts.

A strong advocate of Simple Living and traditional trades, Dawud is one of the few people I know who doesn't own a cell phone. His handiwork as an artisan includes woodworking, beekeeping and candle making.

Dawud resides with his family in Kitchener, Canada where he tinkers around the house, experiments with urban farming and is always producing new songs and videos for the non-profit, educational organization Sound Vision Foundation.

Every conversation I have with Dawud seems to be a rich one. I hope you can join me for this one.

David

Sustaining Our Spirits #4 - Dawud Wharnsby