Playlist for Intercede
is finally dropping
Intercede: Saints for Concerning Occasions turns one year old this week! To celebrate, I’m sharing the playlist for this book. You may be wondering, Why has it taken Jennifer a full year to release this playlist? Is she some kind of marketing genius and this is part of her amazing, but unconventional, rollout plan?
The answer to that last question is, no, I’m more of a Luddite than a marketing genius. I’ll tell you why it’s taken so long.
Backstory about the playlist
In December 2024, my publisher, Unsolicited Press, encouraged each of us authors whose 38 books they were publishing as part of their 2025 Year of Womxn project to create a playlist that could accompany our book.
I immediately panicked as I was only vaguely familiar with the term “playlist.” I knew it must involve some level of technical proficiency (not my strong suit) because people would be able to “stream it” on “Spotify.” I looked up “playlist” and learned that it is the modern day version of a mixed tape, just digitalized. Unless you’re a Luddite like me, you probably already knew that.
Throughout the 1980s and 1990s, my brother did a most excellent job of making mixed tapes for me.
Digitalized playlists started coming on the scene in 2000. I don’t know where I’ve been for the past 26 years, but I’m hip to it now. (Are people still saying “hip?”)
It took me a while, but I figured out Spotify (kind of), curated 15 songs that best vibe with this book, and then read up on how to embed it into Writing Without a Net to share widely. Hopefully, I’ve done it correctly and you can FINALLY enjoy this playlist as much as I do. I listen to it in the car, while I’m cooking, after I’ve re-read a poem or two from the book, and when I’m gardening.
About the playlist for Intercede
Here’s a sentence or two about each of the songs.
1. Halo/Beyonce
This is the first song I picked. My college-age son actually suggested it and I thought it was perfect.
2. Goodness of God/CeCe Winans
Even a fervent atheist would enjoy listening to this gospel singer belt out this song.
3. When the Saints Go Marching In/Louis Armstrong
A month before Intercede was released, I wrote a post in which both the title and subtitle were a nod to this classic song.
4. Take Me To Church/Hozier"
Not only is this super catchy, but Hozier, the Irish singer/songwriter has said that this song is about “asserting yourself and reclaiming your humanity through an act of love."
5. I Say A Little Prayer/Aretha Franklin
The saints in Intercede don’t wait for special times to pray. Like in this song, prayer is infused throughout the day and while doing ordinary things, whether it’s combing one’s hair, getting dressed, or riding a bus.
6. Angel/Sarah McLachlan
Such beautiful, haunting lyrics. This particular line—There's always some reason/To feel not good enough—reminds me of a number of saints in the book, like Saint Catherine of Siena (1347-1380) who refused to follow the norms of the day and stay home and be silent. Though she occassionally doubted herself, she didn’t give up.
Because I didn’t feel worthy enough to write a book about saints, I wrote a post about why I deserved to write about saints.
7. Rise Up/Andra Day
One characteristic I admire about many of the saints I wrote about (Martin Porres comes immediately to mind) is that these individuals hang on, even in the midst of difficulties, and they refuse to let others define them. Martin, by example, also inspired others to rise up.
8. Saint James Infirmary/Cab Calloway & His Orchestra
Along with my wildly talented cousin Jill, Saint James’ Place and Saint James with his “camel-like knees” show up in the poem, “Anatomy of a Prayer.”
9. Your Song/Elton John
With a few exceptions, the saints in Intercede are not wealthy. Many shower those around them with their time, talents, and resources, making their communities better. How wonderful life is while you’re in the world.
10. Feels Like Home/Bonnie Raitt
While some might take up this song as being about romantic love, I think the saints would interprete “Feels Like Home,” written by Randy Newman, as finding love and purpose in relationship with God. This is what the saints are always aspiring to, and some are more successful than others; but they continue to strive.
11. The Story/Brandi Carlile
We are all made up of stories and this song is yet another love story. One reader of Intercede told me she was “pleasantly surprised” by the poems because they were each “mini stories” and she could understand them.
12. It’s a Miracle/Barry Manilow
In writing Intercede, I was more interested in uncovering the real person behind the miracles because, in my opinion, people and their struggles are much more interesting than their purported miracles and amazing feats. For Barry Manilow, the miracle is sweet: coming home to love after traveling.
13. Girl on Fire/Alisha Keys
This song reminds me of Thecla, Monica, Catherine of Alexandria, Mother Teresa and a host of other badass women featured in Intercede.
One of my readers (this past year, he and his wife read a poem/corresponding note at back of book each morning and discussed) sent me a clipping about a new book, The Girl Who Baptised Herself: How a Lost Scripture About a Saint Named Thecla Reveals the Power of Knowing Our Worth. The author, Meggan Watterson, is a feminist theologian and I can’t wait to get my hands on this book.
14. Missionary Man/Eurythmics
This song moves me. Literally. My body refuses to stay still when I hear this song (see poem, “The unfinished dance of the unreliable legend, St. Vitus.”) I once cut my index finger while cooking and dancing to “Missionary Man.” For safety reasons, I no longer listen to this in the car or while handling sharp knives.
Annie Lennox wrote this song not long after divorcing a devout Hari Krishna and said, “You have to beware of people giving you answers to everything.” This song is a cautionary tale of how some political and religious figures manipulate. My poem, “The Lost Art of Playing the Fool,” shows how Saint Simeon afflicted the comfortable and would “Enter churches to wrench the pious from their piety.” There have always been politicians and religious officials who have used saints and religion to manipulate its citizens. (See note that accompanies the poem, “St. Genevieve, Patron Saint of Disasters, Fever, and Paris (422-512 A.D.).”
15. One of Us/Joan Osborne
If we all asked what this song asks: What if God was one of us? Just a slob like one of us … we would be treating the poor, the foreigner, the immigrant, the fill-in-the-blank person, with the dignity they deserve. (See most all the poems in Intercede, including the one about Jeanne de la Noue, “Patron Saint of the Selfish, Who Once Wore the Most Exquisite Clothes.”)
Thank you
Over this past year, I can’t say enough thank you’s to those of you who …
… purchased Intercede (for yourself and/or as gifts for others),
… took the time to tell me (via email, letter, and in person) some of your thoughts after you read the book,
… stocked Intercede on your store bookshelves,
… invited me to read or facilitate a saintly workshop or training,
… interviewed me,
… wrote a review of the book,
… showed up to my readings and other saintly events,
… attempted the 2025 Reading & Writing Saint Challenge,
… showed up and continue to return each week to be part of this Writing Without a Net community.
I’m grateful for all your support.
Thank you not
No thanks to that one person who never told me their name but approached me after a reading to let me know that my study guide to Intercede was “awful.” Apparently, they don’t get my humor, nor do they understand that a bad idea is a bad idea. I feel badly for the people who are in their book club.
Notes
It will be fun to see what happens as Intercede enters the “terrible twos.”
If you haven’t had a chance to get your hands on Intercede: Saints for Concerning Occasions yet, I’d encourage you to purchase your copy from Unsolicited Press, Asterism, Kazoo Books, this is a bookstore/Bookbug, or Dog Ear Books.
My understanding is that if you don’t have a Spotify app/account, you’ll be able to see the playlist, but you can’t listen to it. If you are so motivated, you can always sign up for a free account and listen to it (and other stuff).
I have been listening to Jennifer's Playlist for the last couple of days. I just smile with each song because of her humor, the collection, and knowing that she and her family and friends took time to create this playlist. Life is short, make the most of it like Jenny does!