oniWOODS
Words by Nichole Perkins Photography by Gina Binkley
The Unstoppable Scribe
W
hen poet and voiceover artist Oni Woods returned to Nashville after 16 years of living in Chicago, she found her hometown almost unrecognizable. She returned to help support her mother, who had become the primary caretaker of a family member with dementia. She found high-rise condos in Nashville, something she never imagined, but she also found a way to be at peace with all the changes in her life. Through her poetry, voiceover work, and other endeavors, Woods has learned to use creativity to make change. At A Matter of Taste restaurant in East Nashville, part of those changes Woods has experienced since she returned in 2014, she discusses how Prince influenced her voiceover work, her love of knowledge, and harnessing creativity.
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We all have those things & we face them, in time Do it gracefully
“I’m an insatiable lover of knowledge,” Woods admitted. “I want to know. I want to know about the mind-body-spirit conflicts. I’ve always been, more than anything, a seeker of the ultimate truth, whatever that is. Truth with a capital T. The more I’m looking, the more I realize that’s kind of a pipe dream.”
Because of her interest in commercials, Woods wanted to understand why advertising works, which led her to psychology. The study of medicine intrigued her as well, and her experience as an endocrinology intern at Meharry Medical College during former surgeon general David Satcher’s tenure allowed her to carve a path in biology. Ideally, Woods wanted to “figure out a way into holistic psychology.” She wanted to treat mental illness in a chemical-free way that included the whole person. Her studies circled through various religious beliefs, from Christianity to atheism to Judaism and more, before she settled into her current life of Zen. The portable nature of her skills as a voiceover artist enabled Woods to return home. She insists that “as long as I can set up a booth and the rest of my equipment and get my engineers in there, I can work anywhere.” With the death of her last aunt and the need to help her mother, this flexibility was crucial. How did she first discover her talent for voice work? “I’ve been curating my voice ever since I was about 8 years old,” Woods said. “The first time I heard Prince and realized he was a man, I was like, no way. If he can do that with his voice, what
61 nashvillearts.com