Today we’d like to introduce you to W.J. Lofton.
W.J., can you briefly walk us through your story – how you started and how you got to where you are today.
Poetry found me when I was five. Me and my sister stayed with our father in this senior citizen facility in Chicago. I remember him having this charcoal drawing hanging in our living room that he himself had sketched. I remember seeing the art and how it made me feel and how I wanted to have the language to express what I was experiencing. That’s where the need to have language found me – in Chicago, the last place I shared with my father.
Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
Anything worth having never comes easy. So no, the road hasn’t been smooth and I would not have wanted it to be. I am a firm believer that artists must operate from a space where they honor their emotions; sadness, joy, love, grief, anger. I’ve written both of my collections of poetry during very tumultuous times in my life. Pain is essential to growing and to becoming a better person. That’s why I am here as a poet, to allow my readers to see themselves in one another – to allow them to see that our joys and our pains connect us.
We’d love to hear more about your work and what you are currently focused on. What else should we know?
I am an activist, songwriter, poet, an author of two collections of poetry ” These Flowers were held by Broken Vases” and “A Garden for Black Boys Between the Stages of Soil and Stardust”. My business is empathy-based art. I want my poetry to encourage change, to interrogate and seek to understand the human condition. Differences are what allows for art to happen, incorporating the history of all people including their gender, national origin, sexual orientation, religion, and a multitude of other things. I am proud that I am building a brand centered on authenticity and social justice.
What sets me apart from others? Maybe, there isn’t a huge difference in me and others and that’s what makes my poetry powerful. I seek to celebrate everyone and often times people forget to do that. That’s my secret weapon (which I guess isn’t so secretive now), showing people that I see and care about them. I have had the pleasure of working alongside Beloved Atlanta and have had opportunities to curate art for Congressman John Lewis and actress Jasmine Guy and working alongside multidisciplinary artist Natalie Lauren Sims and with poets Jasmine Mans and Dr. Alysia Harris. My poetry had afforded me the courage to begin building my own table and invite people to collaborate with me.
Any shoutouts? Who else deserves credit in this story – who has played a meaningful role?
Honestly, there are so many people who pour into me on a daily basis. I really am appreciative of the educators that I have come across in my life- many of them still show up for me in one way or another. My friends and family are priceless. I love them more than they know and most of them are creative gurus. Right now my mentors include a wide variety of people but specifically, Natalie Lauren Sims & Jasmine Mans. They encourage creativity and business strategies that will allow my poetry/art to reach my audience. I’d also like to thank my friend Rosa Duffy, owner of For Keeps bookstore on Auburn Avenue for giving my books a home.
Pricing:
- 1:1 Creative Writing Sessions : $50/hr
- Creative Consultations : $100
- My books can be found online at amazon.com
Contact Info:
- Phone: 3343548041
- Email: wjamesjack@gmail.com
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