About the author
Zeridah Ra'Chel "Princess", an appellation given at birth, was born in the Brownsville section of Brooklyn, NY on August 14th 1955. Her african Shemitic-Judaic culture by which she was cultivated is generational in America. The strong spiritual values instilled during her childhood would play a significant role in her development as a poetess, songwriter, performer, mentor and entrepreneur. Zeridah discovered early in her childhood the ability to use words eloquently and passionately. Her bedroom walls were flanked with colorful index cards that captured her spirit filled imagination and creative writings. On the flipside, with adroit mannerism, it would playfully be suggested that she could convince a drowning man to drink a glass of water and he would gracefully accept. In the mid-1970s, while working at a home insurance company and married with one daughter, she was persuaded by her colleagues to enter her poetry into the company's monthly newsletter. Reluctantly, she submitted a poem entitled 'Black On White', depicting the power of ink on paper. It was received by her peers with high praise as she continued writing monthly until her resignation. Zeridah attended Pace University majoring in English Literature and Speech. Fortuitously, her name was submitted into a poetry session at the legendary Baby Grand Lounge in Harlem, NY, home to many great legendary poets, writers and musicians. She recited a selection entitled, 'Messiah Man' leaving the audience stunned as a standing ovation ensued. This rhythmatic and powerful piece of work earned her the moniker 'The Sensuous Radical'. This began an illustrious journey of creative performances, writings, and an introduction to pan-africanism. She was propelled into the fold of The Harlem Renaissance Poetry Reconstruction Era, founded in the mid-1970s, performing alongside legendary artists such as George Edward Tate, The "D Train Poet" Rich Bartee, Louis Reyes Rivera and many more conscious artists. George Edward Tate became her mentor and introduced her to the world of acting. She would go on to land the lead female role in Tate's production, Homework: A Marriage Manual, as well as its sequel. Zeridah's creative pursuits led her to Rome Neal of The Neal Assemble Company. Her acting career continued with Neal's production, "The Party", performed all throughout New York City. She earned the role as Lady in Yellow, in the late Ntozake Shange's iconic play For Colored Girls who Considered Suicide but The Rainbow Was Enough, directed by Arnold Beuchamp, Artistic Director of the Paul Roberson Theatre. Soon after, Zeridah met Kenya Cagle, CEO of New Artist Productions (now Caglevision), at the Billie Holiday Theatre where he offered her a role in his series The Undercover Man. Her brilliant performance would lead to her role as Diana in another Cagle production entitled, Diana LaCharm. Zeridah wrote the soundtrack for both productions. In 1987, She received her spiritual calling to return to her african shemitic nativity by which she was fashioned. She took with her the confidence and the ability to begin bridging the communication gap within her hebrew community and the world at large using her artistic skills. She married Rabbi Prince Yehudah, a prolific hebrew instructor and Torah scholar, and together they continued building their family as she pursued her entrepreneurial goals. In the last 35 years, Zeridah Ra'Chel gained respectful titles as Rabbinith-Imma. She mentored and sponsored souls in the arts of music, cultural awareness, poetry and real estate. In the early 1990s, she produced her own original work and released two albums with the renowned Elureil Barfield and singer-performer Alfa Anderson under Shalom Productions. She went on to establish 'Tarbooti Boutique: My Cultural Boutique', designing, tailoring, and selling clothing and cultural artifacts. Since then, Tarbooti Boutique has evolved into Tarbooti Enterprise Inc. She is also the Founder of Poetstatic Publishing