Meet David Jenkins | Warrior/Poet/Artist

We had the good fortune of connecting with David Jenkins and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi David, how has your work-life balance changed over time?
This has always been an important one for me. Understanding when it’s time to take a break and absorb. As a poet I need quiet time. Walks with no music. Walks with music. Let my brain wander. Let life happen and simply make note of my experiences. New cities. New conversations. Family. Lovers. Strangers. I have to build up a reservoir to draw material from so my work comes in waves.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
I am a poet. A lover of words and the myriad of ways they can be assembled to connect the feelings of pain and beauty that we all share as humans.

I had been writing poetry for a long time as just a way to process my own feelings and experiences without ever sharing it with anyone. It wasn’t until a friend asked to read some of my work that I ever considered sharing with anyone. After seeing the way it resonated with her I started to craft more work with the intent of sharing and so the journey started. With a lot of rejection letters before getting anything published. It is so hard to guess what will resonate with others and what won’t. A lot of work that I love gets shrugged off while things that I think are just ok really hit home with people. But that is the beauty of poetry, I think. The unexpected connections. That is the motivation to keep working. To connect. To say something in a way that makes someone else go “Exactly! I didn’t know how to express what I was feeling but that’s it!”

So after publishing some work in different literary journals I’m working on my first feature length book of poetry and another portrait series about connection. The fire that defines and shapes us all.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
For me, Los Angeles is about the diversity. If you come to visit me we’re gonna go get in the mix. The people, the culture, the food, the experiences. Places where people are their weirdest most authentic selves. Coffee shops, flea markets, thrift stores. Lunch and coffee in Little Ethiopia at Cafe Buna. Supporting anywhere other artists are hosting events and sharing their creativity in this beautiful city. Concerts, plays, improv, dance, freestyle, burlesque, poetry readings, DJs, art shows. Drag shows in WEHO. Bachata classes at La Descarga on a Wednesday night. Dancing with strangers until they close. Late night street tacos holding hands with someone special while the rest of the city sleeps. Walking among the poetry that this city so freely gives.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
My high school English teacher who recently passed, Mrs. Jordan. (I can’t use her first name because she’s always been Mrs. Jordan to me and she commanded that respect from everyone she taught but her first name is Beverly for these purposes). The first person to hear my voice in all of its strange tones and encourage me to explore those depths and put them on paper and to keep up that daily practice.

Website: https://davidthomasjenkins.com

Instagram: @poetryfromthefire @davidthomasjenkins

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/david-thomas-jenkins-0687051a/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/davidthomasjenkins