Judith Hoch
Judith Hoch holds an M.A and Ph.D. in anthropology from McGill University in Montreal, Canada. Her Hons. B.A in anthropology is from Tulane University in New Orleans where she first encountered African religions, which have intrigued her for many years. Her research was with indigenous Quebec Cree people, Yoruba people in Nigeria and their descendants, and the Lucumi in Miami and Cuba.
Judith taught at two Florida universities in the USA before becoming a full-time artist, yoga teacher, and writer. Her book Prophecy on the River makes use of the mediumship of Ernesto Pichardo, her diviner and ceremonial leader in Lucumi, an Afro Cuban religion. Her unpublished manuscript The Soothsayer, which also features Lucumi, was a finalist for the Ashton Wiley Literary Manuscript Prize in 2016. Prophecy on the River (2019) uses part of that manuscript, but travels quickly away from Miami to New Zealand, where Maori ancestors and spirits, trees and water speak. Prophecy on the River is a 2020 finalist in the Ashton Wylie Literary Book Competition. Judith is writing a new book, Stories from the Soothsayer, based on the 2016 manuscript. You can see her work and connect with her at her website, where you will find her portfolios and her essays on meaning and symbolism in her work. |