Justice Poetic
Newsletter 1, September 5, 2019
Welcome to Justice Poetic.
This week I found out that I have over 50 followers. What a gift and a delight. I started this as a tiny place to put some of my poetry. I like that other people are here to read what I write and to support poetry as an art, as a craft, as a way of life.
I like it so much that I decided I have to do a newsletter of sorts now and again. Something to organize my thoughts, sum up the week, share things with you, and to be shared with others who might also want to be here to hear what I have to say now and again.
Poetry is a blessing to me. It has always been with me. My inner voice, if you will. Well, the one that is mostly kind, calm, patient, and helpful. The other one(s) need a time out now and again, if you know what I mean. The self critic, the doubter, the insecure one, the vengeful one! Not that the poetry one doesn’t sit down and talk with each one of these voices every now and again. But, she is her own and she is the strongest of them all.
I started to read when I was 3 years old. I started to write poetry when I was 7. I was crazy about poetry. I still am. And I believe it is my calling in life to get others somewhat crazy about poetry too.
I have a few autobiographical pieces on poetry and my life, you can find them here:
I love this piece. It helps me feel okay to not have the credentials and such, yet or ever. Because poetry is one of those places where it does not have to be so hard to get into, but it is often intentionally made hard to get into. Why? I believe it should be every day, for every one. We can do this!
And this piece talks about my class upbringing, my love for poetry and my fight to read a poem at my High School Graduation. Good times!
I dwell in the small spaces of poetry. The spaces of daily life. Of common words. Of simplicity. But, while my words are made to give all who come here access and connection, the subject matter I write about can range from seriously painful climate change poetry, to reflections on love and family, to parenting, education, feminism, society, and romance. I also write poetry about poetry and poetry about writing.
As with all writers, we are scribes, we are recorders. Anything we see, hear, witness, observe, do, feel, desire, are subjected to, is up for grabs as something to write about. That is the beauty of writing and the joy of poetry.
Poetry can get through to people where other forms of writing just can’t. It can reach deep down and it can hold and hug and sway and comfort.
It can spark and push as well. I aim to do as much of this reaching and grabbing and connecting as I can with my words. It helps make life a bit better. It helps make feelings a bit lighter.
And it helps that there are people who are interested and caring enough to be interested and to care about me and my little words.
A few poems of the week that I really like, with a bit of backstory on each:
I truly do love this piece. It is okay to love your own work. It is also okay to be critical of it, and to learn and grow and improve. In other words, it is okay to just be. I have been thinking a lot about climate change. I have been reading books about dinosaurs. Somehow this merged together for me and in poetry I found the answers to why.
This poem is an ode. I fangirl hard over a lot of poets. That is okay too. It is a nice thing to be obsessed over, I think. Because poetry is a calm and steady obsession.
Oh, did I mention I am really concerned and constantly thinking about the bigger issues of climate change, and species extinction, and this earth and this life? This poem is about that.
This poem speaks to some of my deepest feelings. I do not like much in this society in terms of what it does to children, how it values people, how it creates a culture of harm and exploitation, and so on. I want adult to mean something more, something better, for us adults and for children. We can do better. We do not need the negative things or the obsessions with vice and self destruction to be labeled as “adult” and thus excused as okay. We can make kindness the adult way to be, right? Yes!
Two non-poems that might be of interest to readers and writers:
I wrote this essay about being a poet and being an introvert and how these things combine to produce me not being able to read my poetry out loud, aloud, loud at all to others in places that might be public. Enjoy! Maybe you can relate?
And one on remembering to remember when you have, when I had, really good ideas for poems, but failed to write them down! Oh no!
An email list that I am working on. I am new to this whole thing, but as with any writer, any poet, the idea of getting more of me out there to more people who might be moved, inspired, comforted, made happy by whatever poetry I have to share, is such a deep and motivating goal.
You can sign up for the email newsletter here:
Let me know if it works! And thank you, in advance.
My Facebook page is here, Jenny Justice, Writer.
And my Medium page, well, you know where to find me:
Or, here at Justice Poetic, fam:
See you next week, and thank you. Spread the word, share what you like, send people my way. I might get myself into some sort of mentor situation, or group of poets situation, or anything that might help spread the love and support for poets and poetry. I think it is what makes life and this world so beautiful. We can process it all through writing and reading poetry.
Sincerely,
Jenny Justice is a mom, Sociology instructor, and writer. You can follow her on Medium and at Jenny Justice, Writer. She has been recognized as a Top Writer on Medium in Poetry, Parenting, Reading, Education, Books, Racism, Feminism and Climate Change, so far. You can follow her poetry at Justice Poetic.
