Grief, Song, and Multi-Species liberation with Alexandra "ahlay" Blakely

In this conversation, Victoria Loorz speaks with Alexandra "ahlay" Blakely, singer-songwriter, communal grief tender, and community organizer, and the creator of WAILS: Songs for Grief, an album recorded with 200 voices entirely dedicated to grief, inspired by whales and Francis Weller's five gates of grief. Drawing from the lineages of movement song, Dagara grief ritual, and a lifelong relationship with whales, Alexandra has spent years developing her practice at the intersection of collective mourning, ancestral remembrance, and the emerging movement for the rights of nature.Together, they explore what it means to grieve what we love as an act of reverence — and what it takes to carry that grief without being destroyed by it. Alexandra reflects on the land and water that raised her, the dreams that called her home after eleven years in Mexico, and a vision of multi-species liberation rooted in the belief that humans belong to this earth — and have a role within it urgently worth reclaiming.Audio note: Alexandra's world was very alive during this recording. You will hear sounds of planes, cars, and dogs.Content Warning: Discussion of suicidal ideation starting at 28:01 to 28:29. Please listen with kind care for yourself.Connect with Alexandra:Website: healingattheroots.comAlbum: WAILS: Songs for GriefFeatured Song: All The PlacesFeatured Song: Sacred Wild OneMentioned in the episode:Movie: Free WillyMovie: Whale RiderColleague: Linda ThaiColleague: Laurence ColeWiki: the Dagaaba peopleColleague: Joanna MacyBook: Is A River Alive? by Robert MacfarlaneColleague: César Rodríguez-GaravitoColleague: Lyla JuneTedX Talk: 3000-year-old solutions to modern problems - Lyla JuneBook: Braiding Sweetgrass by Robin Wall KimmererColleague: Francis WellerBook: The Wild Edge of Sorrow by Francis WellerPoem: Sweet Darkness by David WhyteConnect with the Center:Website: wildspirituality.earthVictoria's Website: victorialoorz.comEmail: hello@wildspirituality.earthLinktree: linktr.ee/ctrforwildspiritualityInstagram: @center_for_wild_spiritualityTimestamps:0:00 – Introduction 3:44 – Interview Begins 8:08 – Love For Whales 10:55 – Grief Medicine 11:54 – Alexandra's Movements Music 13:35 – Song: All The Places18:30 – Ancestral Memory 19:54 – An Ecosystem of Action 24:01 – Multi-Species Liberation 30:41 – Song: Sacred Wild One33:53 – We Grieve What We Love 43:05 – Alexandra's Wild Edge 45:31 – Wild Invitation 49:44 – Credits