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.com - Album: WAILS: Songs for Grief - Featured Song: All The Places - Featured Song: Sacred Wild One Mentioned in the episode: - Movie: Free Willy - Movie: Whale Rider - Colleague: Linda Thai - Colleague: Laurence Cole - Wiki: the Dagaaba people - Colleague: Joanna Macy - Book: Is A River Alive? by Robert Macfarlane - Colleague: César Rodríguez-Garavito - Colleague: Lyla June - TedX Talk: 3000-year-old solutions to modern problems - Lyla June - Book: Braiding Sweetgrass by Robin Wall Kimmerer - Colleague: Francis Weller - Book: The Wild Edge of Sorrow by Francis Weller - Poem: Sweet Darkness by David Whyte Connect with the Center: - Website: wildspirituality.earth - Victoria's Website: victorialoorz.com - Email: hello@wildspirituality.earth - Linktree: linktr.ee/ctrforwildspirituality - Instagram: @center\for\wild\_spirituality Timestamps: - 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 Places* - 18:30 – Ancestral Memory - 19:54 – An Ecosystem of Action - 24:01 – Multi-Species Liberation - 30:41 – Song: *Sacred Wild One* - 33:53 – We Grieve What We Love - 43:05 – Alexandra's Wild Edge - 45:31 – Wild Invitation - 49:44 – Credits