avatarJenny Justice

Summary

Jenny Justice reveals her personal journey and deep-rooted passion for poetry, which has been a source of solace, identity, and advocacy throughout her life.

Abstract

Jenny Justice's essay "Why I Write Poetry" is a reflective exploration of her profound connection to poetry, tracing back to her early childhood when she learned to read and write. Despite growing up in a dysfunctional family environment, marred by alcoholism and isolation, Justice found solace and a sense of self in poetry. It became her means of expression, a way to process her experiences, and a tool for advocacy, particularly in the realms of social justice and personal growth. Justice acknowledges that her poetic talent is an innate gift rather than a learned skill, and she emphasizes the joy, spiritual fulfillment, and the sense of community she has gained through poetry. She aspires to continue writing and sharing poetry, hoping to inspire empathy, connection, and healing in others, while also striving to make poetry a more prominent part of her professional life.

Opinions

  • Poetry provides a unique sense of pride and creation, offering Justice a way to articulate her innermost thoughts and feelings.
  • The act of writing poetry is akin to a spiritual practice for Justice, filled with fun, joy, and a sense of meaningful work.
  • Justice believes that poetry is a natural talent that cannot be solely attributed to formal training or academic qualifications.
  • She values poetry for its ability to clarify moments, wrap experiences in vivid feelings, and present them as gifts to readers.
  • Justice views poetry as a form of gentle yet relentless activism, advocating for equity, justice, and human rights.
  • The process of writing poetry is distinctly different for Justice compared to other forms of writing, as it feels more powerful, intentional, and fulfilling.
  • Justice embraces poetry as a core part of her identity, equating it to being her highest and most authentic self.
  • She dreams of making poetry her lifelong vocation, sharing it with the world, and fostering a community around the love of poetry.

Why I Write Poetry

Some Brief Partial Thoughts Inspired by Ansel Guarneros, Again

Photo by John Jennings on Unsplash

I learned to read at age three. I started to write not long after. The clearest memory I have of writing is writing a poem at the age of seven. I remember the feeling of creation and of pride. And in my life at that point, throughout, on and off, that feeling of creating something that I could point to and see as “real” — something that was not there before until I came up with it, or it came out of me — was new, and rare. So was the feeling of pride or being happy about myself.

I grew up in a family steeped in dysfunction. I grew up in a family where my daily life was permeated with little sharp feelings of being isolated, weird, alone, poor, and bored. I felt disconnected and unimportant as children of alcoholics often do. The entire family dynamic is centered around the drunk person. Is the drunk person drunk? Will he be drunk soon? Is this sleepy drunk or angry drunk? If I do this right maybe he won’t get drunk today? Will my mom cry today? Will I even spend time with my mom today or will she be care-taking for a drunken man again? I grew up in a family where not much communication happened. My mom is probably the reason why I am a reader, why I turned to books, why books raised me. She would read all of the time. It was her escape from her life. Same for me.

In high school friends would ask me to write poems for them. I would. They would be amazed. I would be happy. It was rare.

See, because I was the weird kid whose dad was the town drunk and whose grandma just killed herself and oddly enough these things do not inspire empathy or support in high school age kids. They inspire ostracism and gossip.

So I read. I wrote. I found my tribe of friends. I had the honor of being able to work in the town bookstore where I found poetry books, poets, writers, readers, community and family. And when the time came, this is another story, I got out of that town. And took poetry with me. All set to be an English major. And then I took one Sociology class and felt compelled to devote my life towards justice and keep poetry as best I could.

More stuff happened. Decades of narcissistic abuse. I had a baby. I stopped writing. I stopped feeling. I left bad situations. I got into better situations. I found poetry again.

I write poetry because it is the way my mind speaks to itself. All day. Every day. Morning, noon, or night. I was never “trained” or “given a degree” in this “field.” But looking back, most poets weren’t either. It’s a gift, a voice, a drive, a passion that just is or is not. I do not know that it can be taught or trained or molded if it is not already there. I do know I can always grow and learn. I know that some of my poems are good, some are great, and some are so-so.

Photo by Freddy Castro on Unsplash

I write poetry because I love it. I love reading poetry. I love thinking about poetry. I love putting my life into poetry. I love putting fairy tales into poetry, love into poetry, parenting into poetry, and social justice into poetry. I love love, love and love, and love and love poetry. And poets. Swoon!

I write poetry because it helps me clarify the moment, for myself, for others, for society. I write poetry because it takes an issue or experience, wraps it in vivid feeling, and gives it to readers like a gift. I write poetry because it connects me to the world in a way nothing else ever really has. And it connects me to others in a way that nothing else ever really has. It was this thing I could do that hardly anyone else really could do. It was this thing I could do that felt real.

I write poetry because it is fun. It is so so so much deep level soul joy. It is creative fun. It is like play. It is serious fun. It is like meaningful work. It is spiritual fun. It is like church and zen and healing and prayer.

Photo by Fuu J on Unsplash

I write poetry because though I can and have and will keep writing other things, the process does not feel the same, does not feel as powerful, does not feel as full of spark, intent, deliberateness, brevity, hope. When I write other things I feel I go on too long, or I am not saying enough, or I could add more, or even research and then the ideas slip away from me, often. When I write poetry the ideas flow quickly and then I go in and add, or edit, or even, should I need to research something, just to make sure it is the right word or concept.

I write poetry because I love words and I love freedom.

I write poetry because as you might notice, when I write long form anything I use too many commas. My head breaks up everything I think into potential poetry. So my grammar and such things like rules makes me feel a bit stressed when I write things that are not poetry. When I write poetry it is natural. I feel where things go, re-read a few times to be sure, and then can see and touch and feel and wish the best for my tiny new creation.

Photo by Jon Tyson on Unsplash

I have written about growing up working class and having to fight for so much in terms of who I was, who I wanted to be, and how I was going to get there. One of those things that I had to fight for was to claim poetry for myself. Working class kids were not supposed to lean towards poetry. To like it. To want to write it. And yet here I was doing just that. Boldly. I write poetry because it is gentle, subtle, pressing, relentless activism that strives for equity and justice and that raises my voice and the voices of others who are up against things that are not giving people their full due when it comes to respect, human rights, kindness, or justice.

Poetry is justice in action, and also, vice versa.

In all of this, I write poetry because it is me. It is who I am. It is this one thing that makes me feel like the most possible me. It helps me work towards the goals of being my highest self. My most core self.

And yes, I would write it in scribbles on paper scraps like Emily Dickinson if that were my only option. But I have found that I love writing it for people to read it. And I want to somehow make that into what I do for the rest of my life.

This is my it. This is the goal. This is the dream come true. I want to write poetry, learn to read this poetry in public places, read more poetry, write more poetry, learn to make this poetry shine in books and journals, grow into more and more and more of a poet, give talks to kids about poetry, and keep sharing my poetry with you, here online, in ways that feel like give and take, like daily joyful beautiful stocking stuffer Christmas, like community and healing.

Jenny Justice is a poet mom who longs to bring poetry to life in ways that spark empathy, connection, joy, and feeling. She loves writing love poems, climate change awareness poems, poems for kids, and of course, poems about poetry and poets. You can follow her on Medium and at Jenny Justice, Writer. You can support her on Patreon. You can follow her poetry at Justice Poetic.

Other things I have written about why I write poetry:

And a poem about poetry because of poet love:

Poetry
Writing
Poetry Writing
Poet
Self
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