The Boutelle-Day Poetry Center hosted the second guest poet of the Fall 2021 Reading Series, Jenny Johnson, a writer known for her exploration of queer identity in relation to nature and reality.
On Oct. 19, Johnson came to speak in the Weinstein Auditorium. She addressed topics of queerness and sensuality, blending them into metaphors of nature and family values.
Although soft-spoken, Johnson’s demeanor spoke volumes; she was charismatic and lively with her hand gestures and bright smile, along with her subtle jokes. Her words breathed new life into the crowd and provided a fresh understanding of bodies and love.
Matt Donovan, director of the Poetry Center, described the event as a “beautiful, exhilarating, amazing reading,” and students echoed his enthusiasm.
Isabel Cruz ‘24 said, “I’m still a little speechless when it comes to Johnson’s reading last night. Jenny’s poetry is genuine and soulful. Her presence is as well. I think that’s what stood out to me most—how down-to-earth and full of love for poetry, for nature, and for others she is.”
On her process, Johnson told the audience, “I’ve been writing poems that feel fun, that give me a sense of pleasure. Sometimes poems take months to write, in ‘In Full Velvet,’ the title poem took a year.”
She said, “I do write poetry to resolve things I don’t understand. It’s my way to make sense of the world.”
Johnson is open-minded and adventurous in her methods of research and exploring both in nature and within herself. She expressed great appreciation for longer poems because they allow her to look at different angles of a subject matter.
Many people use humor as a coping mechanism to repress difficult emotions, but Johnson uses it as a tool for navigation. Humorous ideas “allow you to swerve, and play and catch people off guard,” she said.
To Johnson, the most important thing about being a writer is building a community: having people in your life who read your work and who encourage you is the fuel for fulfilling work. In order to find meaning and a direction, she advised figuring out “whose work moves you, and what they did and who they submit work to.”
Her gentle alliteration and extensive knowledge of nature captured the audience. Madison Kroher ’24 said, “Johnson’s work is unique in that it incorporates her own curiosities and passions outside of poetry to make a statement on what it is like to grow up in a body that doesn’t feel like your own.”
They felt seen in Johnson’s work about queerness and body dysmorphia in particular and added, “She is unashamed to let her queerness run wild, raw and natural in her recent collection ‘In Full Velvet.’”
Cruz added, “I left the reading feeling inspired. It’s the best feeling a reading can leave you with.”
Johnson’s advice for writing about difficult subjects is simple: “Write it down and sit with the fact that you’ve written it. If you have the energy and it excites you, go do it!”
She is fearless and finds her truest sense of self through poetry, something which left the audience thrilled and hungry with new passion.
