Today we’d like to introduce you to Jessica M. Wilson.
Alright, so thank you so much for sharing your story and insight with our readers. To kick things off, can you tell us a bit about how you got started?
I always wanted to be a Poet. When I was in college, I experienced so many poetry readings, Q&As, and author meet n greets…it was so much fun. It was a huge literary party. These were two things I enjoyed the most: hosting parties and talking about poetry. When I graduated from Graduate school, the whole party was over…and I had nowhere to share my poetry or no one to talk poetry with. I was a lonely Poet, a lonely artist, and I had a huge city to explore — Los Angeles. However, I still had no clue as to where the poetry scene was, so I started the Los Angeles Poet Society.
At first, I thought LA was massive; a huge metropololis, surely there was a Los Angeles Poet Society… but it did not exist. So in 2009, about a year after graduate school, I started the LA Poet Society.
I’m sure you wouldn’t say it’s been obstacle free, but so far would you say the journey have been a fairly smooth road?
The Internet was a big deal and was a great tool to bring in LA Poets, Writers, Artists, and Creatives of all sorts together… I had the know-how and brought the people together. It was a lot of fun taking pictures and sharing our happenings online. However, the initial networking steps started with me merely talking about the “Los Angeles Poet Society” with the Poets I’d meet at open mics or any other events I was at. I handed them strips of paper with my email and told them to keep in touch. Oftentimes, I would have an email list sign-up sheet with me and just collect emails. The first network started over email.
It was a few years later when I fully utilized Facebook or Twitter to get the word out and keep folks in a collective page online.
Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
I am a Poet. I also enjoy singing, painting, dancing, and hiking… I am an Earth lover…there is no other place I’d want to be. I am a Radio DJ and literary host for KROJ, Radio Ollin, 101.5 FM
One of the things I am most proud of is being an internationally published Poet. My publisher, Edition du Cygne or “Swan World Press”, is in Paris, France. In 2019, I was supremely blessed to be able to visit Paris, spending eight days there with friends, and visiting my publisher, and participating in Paris’ poetry market known as Marché de la Poésie. It was located at the church of Saint Sulpice. I was honored and had a reading at this event. It was so incredible. I also had the honor to read at Le Chat Noire for an English language open mic in Paris and met some more Poet friends. I had the best adventure…and of course, being an avid Doors fan, I had to spend some time at Père Lachaise Cemetery cemetery to visit the tomb of Jim Morrison.
My poetry is my passion, and I am absolutely obsessed with throwing poetry parties. The Los Angeles Poet Society is my gift to LA, and I pray that it continues beyond my time.
Networking and finding a mentor can have such a positive impact on one’s life and career. Any advice?
Talk to people about what you are doing. Ask questions, and don’t be afraid to show folks what you have done. Don’t keep your books or CDs hidden. You are living art, and you have the right to show off!
Contact Info:
- Website: www.jessicamwilson.com
- Instagram: @losangelespoetsociety
- Facebook: @losangelespoetsociety
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC456Kt-ngLem4Rnygsa-jVA
- Other: www.lapoetsociety.org
