Meet Jess Denman

Today we’d like to introduce you to Jess Denman.

Jess, let’s start with your story. We’d love to hear how you got started and how the journey has been so far.
I have loved books for as long as I can remember. As a child, I was an avid reader, often reading my mother’s books just to satisfy my desire for fantastic storytelling. As a teenager, I began writing more and finding myself drawn to poetry as a medium to process my own emotions and experiences. At the time sharing poetry on the internet was in its infancy and as a painfully introverted teen it seemed to be the easiest way for me to connect with others. Due to family circumstances it became increasingly more difficult to share my work so my dreams were put on hold, for what turned into many years. I continued to write but I no longer shared my work. I had children, got married, created a life, but kept my poetry and my work secret. Although writing has always been a part of my life, I allowed it to take a backseat to the day to day life I had created. Then in 2017, I felt the need to embrace the vulnerability that comes with sharing such personal work and began to slowly share with people in my life. Until just a few months ago, when I began sharing my work on Instagram.

Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
The struggle has been almost entirely internal. Writing and poetry, specifically, is deeply personal work. There is such deep-rooted shame in many of the emotions we all experience. This coupled with the idealism and perceived perfection that social media has created in the last decade makes it even more difficult to share your truth. Unless you dive deeper. You’ll see so many beautiful souls, each with unique gifts and struggles. But this vulnerability is what makes our stories so powerful, and creates a sense of connection that can feel almost impossible to find otherwise.

We’d love to hear more about your work and what you are currently focused on. What else should we know?
I deeply believe in the power of poetry as an instrument for healing. Healing myself and hopefully others with whom my work resonates with. I am working toward publishing my work in a collection. It is a very slow process because I wear many hats. I try very hard to show up every single day to be a mother, a wife, a friend, and a writer. None of those things is easy, but all of these things are worth it.

What moment in your career do you look back most fondly on?
The proudest moment so far would be the initial post I made on Instagram. Facing countless fears and beliefs, imagining what might happen if I put myself out there; but doing it anyway. Vulnerability is actually the opposite of what we perceive it to be. It’s a real-life superpower. I’ve found that doing the hard thing will always be in our own best interest, no matter how scary it initially seems.

Contact Info:

• Email: jeskamaye@gmail.com
• Instagram: j.maye_

Image Credit:
Jess Denman & Karrie Campbell

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