Welcome to another writer feature! This interview is with twenty year old Jennifer McGraw, a student at Rowan University going for her Bachelors in Public Relation and a concentration in Sports Communication and Media, (she will also be receiving an Honors Concentration degree!). She’s been writing poetry and short prose for three years, and has published the poetry collection colors which is available here, and a poetry and prose collection human nature available for pre-order here. You can also look around her website, and follow her on Instagram @jenn_mcgraw.
What are you currently working on? When/where will it be available to read?
Finished “human nature” and working on hosting a virtual book release/going about promoting the book while abiding by social distance guidelines.
“Human nature” will be available November 1st to purchase but it is available now for preorder on the Barnes and Noble website.
What do you want readers to take away from your writing?
I want readers to take away from my writing the inspiration and motivation to take any negative feelings or emotions and make it something positive. They’d be surprised at what exactly they can create from their mind and put it into paper or on a canvas.
What is your favorite part of the writing process? Why?
My favorite part of the writing process [is] writing when I feel most passionate or when I have a lot of emotions. In my new book, “human nature”, I have a LOT of feeling and heart put into those poems. Knowing that I’m able to create something so magical and so unique to me is what makes writing so therapeutic to me.
Has the Covid-19 pandemic affected your writing?
The Covid-19 pandemic had me quarantined for a good part of the year. To keep myself from going crazy, I just kept writing. I also figured that I would take advantage of the extra time and put it to good use to finish my book. Now that my book is finished, however, there is so much that I can’t do as far as book promotion is concerned due to the Covid-19. I have to figure out new ways of promoting my book while abiding by social distancing guidelines. (which shouldn’t be a concern!!)
What do you love most about your own writing?
The thing that I love most about my own writing is that it’s unique to me. My style is a hybrid of Lucille Clifton and more modern-day poets like amanda lovelace and Rupi Kaur. I like that it’s my own style, and it’s something I’m proud of. After my first book, I didn’t feel as proud of my work and I felt super vulnerable reading it out loud to people. Now with my second book, I’m so much more proud of what I’ve written and I can’t wait to share it with the world.
What is something that, as a writer, you couldn’t live without?
As a writer, I could not live without my poem journal. My journal holds all kinds of poem drafts and different doodles and ideas that I want to incorporate in my upcoming books. The poetry journal that I currently have is a journal from Cracker Barrel. It’s something that really means a lot to me because I feel like it’s a part of me.
Describe the first thing you ever wrote.
The first thing I ever wrote? I was so young!! But I think it was a story. It was a short story. The first story I ever committed to was based off of the “My Sims Kingdom” game. The game had islands that you complete and they had their own aesthetic. In the story I wrote, each chapter was a different island. It was really cool and I might write something like that again just for my entertainment. Even though I was very young, something about being able to create a world that I could read later was very entertaining to me.
Can you share a sneak peek/quote from a current project?
Sure!! This poem is named after the book.
the greens are healing
she breathes in the earthly aroma
her medicine is in nature
barefoot, she’s closer to home this way
walking the cool, dirt ground
it’s her home after all
the place she can kick her shoes off
her healing place, her home
she is becoming herself again
she is one of the trees
recognizing and planting her roots
regrowing her leaves
she’s coming back to the self she was meant to be
she is human nature
What advice would you give a less experienced writer?
Something that I disliked for a while but really is the greatest way to help you get better is to read. Having to read for school had me not like reading that much, but once I got back to reading again, I realized how helpful it actually is. Another piece of advice I would give is to just continue writing! Commitment and consistency in your craft is key. It’s also really good to see where you’ve started to where you are now.
Big thanks to Jennifer for a wonderful interview! If you would like to be interviewed for my blog, send me a message on Instagram @elizarkent.
