Today’s feature is different. Instead of discussing an entire book or series, we’re going to focus on one poem in Janeen Ippolito’s poetry anthology, A Storm Grows. And she’s going to share the story behind it.
First, here’s the poem and a brief description of the anthology. None of the poems are titled, but this poem comes from the last collection in the book, Sunshowers.
A poetry anthology of those who have remained unspoken for too long. Who have silenced their hearts and souls and now want to break free and be heard.
There is healing in the storm and growth in rain-tears. And always, always a way forward. No matter what.
Janeen:
This poem first came to me visually. I really love the look of letters, font, and typography, so sometimes creating a poem is more like painting a visual picture with words of specific shapes and letter-flow. Sometimes my best poems come out this way because it’s a merging of the flow of visuals with the meaning behind them. In particular, “empty”, “open”, “adventure”, “unknown” and “dream” are four of my favorite words in terms of how they look visually on the page.
Janeen:
In this poem, after I wrote it, I realized it was focused on the emptiness you feel when you’re starting a new project, a new goal, a new part of your life in some way. Staring at the blank page and wondering what possibilities are there. Starting new ventures makes me feel 50% incredibly alive and 50% completely terrified, so flowing into a poem was a way of giving the newness shape and beauty and form. I wanted to acknowledge the emptiness, the dread that can come with new things, and offer hope and encouragement for that stage in life.
K.A.:
That’s beautiful, Janeen. Thank you for sharing your creative process and influences for this poem.
K.A.:
A Storm Grows is available on Amazon.
About Janeen Ippolito
Janeen Ippolito believes you should own your unique words! She writes steampunk fantasy, urban fantasy, and poetry, plus she creates writing resources, including the World Building Made Easy series. She’s an experienced teacher, editor, author coach, marketing strategist, and is the leader of Uncommon Universes Press, a traditional science fiction and fantasy publishing house. She’s also the cohost of the podcast Indie Book Magic. In her spare time, Janeen enjoys sword-fighting, reading, pyrography, and eating brownie batter. Two of her goals are eating fried tarantulas and traveling to Antarctica.
You can connect with her at her website, or on Instagram, Facebook, or Twitter.
*** View past features here. ***
K.A. Cummins 