Working Gal Rock and Roll Poet: Dr. Susan Whittred on the Anne Leighton Inclusion Interview Show

Tuesday, January 27, 2026

Dr. Susan Whittred on the Anne Leighton Inclusion Interview Show

Dr. Susan Whittred on the Anne Leighton Inclusion Interview Show https://youtu.be/3usaLULqbNQ?si=8yCMNaLFSijcosk1 via YouTube We talk about senior citizens adopting senior cats, why declawing is bad, Dr. Whittred's work pre-veterinarian days with Rory Gallagher, Jethro Tull, and favorite TV shows! Last century, both of us worked for Imago Records, and earlier than that she worked at Chrysalis Records. #ThePawProject #PatriciaLadewFoundation

My book is called THE LEIGHTON EXPLOSION, which is a title I've played with throughout my entire adult life. It's based on The Music Explosion who rocked with a favorite song, "A Little Bit Of Soul." It's optimistic, and self-empowering, which is a quality I love in art... Three things have been constant in my life—- writing, music, and animals. Likewise, I've adapted the words to Frank Sinatra’s hit, “That’s Life.” I sing, “I’ve been a poet, a pauper, a publicist…. up and down…..” My poetry book, The Leighton Explosion (Soul Asylum, Canada) shows my range of emotion and different interests, especially rock music. My publisher Ken Cowle says I “made him laugh.” Jethro Tull frontman Ian Anderson, who writes the book’s foreword, praises my “lilt” and “personality” in an encouraging note. While I usually work as a music publicist with musicians including Jethro Tull, Joe Deninzon & Stratospheerius, Sharon Katz & The Peace Train, and Michael Veitch, I've also made money from my poetry. This includes the Grammy-nominated album, Healthy Food for Thought: Good Enough to Eat, (Audio & Video Labs) with me reading my poem “Feed Your Parents Well.” My poems have been published in The Indie Collaborative’s “Holiday Program,” “The Literary Parrot Anthology,” “Elephant Journal,” “BOG GOB,” “Powerline,” “the Aquarian,” and “Nickel.” I've performed live at the Nuyorican Poets Cafe and Peter Max’s Studio. Some of my plays have been performed live—one by the Poets Repertory Theatre of Long Island and another by the San Antonio Living River Church, and at New York City’s Howl Fest. My other books are Paws For Thought: How to Understand What Your Cat is Thinking (Rockwell Books, UK), Using Your Art & the Media to Comfort People (Free To Run Books, West Hills, CA), and the self-published e-book, Get the Gig (Common Sense Career Consulting). I recently started producing pop music singles, which can be heard at soundcloud.com/leightonmedia/sets/anneleightonsongs.