Poetry That Heals: Grief and Creativity with Jacinta White

Jacinta V. White shares her journey with creativity, grief and the beautiful outlet of writing poetry. "Processing difficulty through poetry helps me be honest with my own questions about trauma, confusion or heartbreak." "Poetry is an invitation to be intimate. My role is to help guide the process. Creativity is an invitation to take risks and explore things that you normally wouldn't take the time to explore. Part of the creative process is being still and resting. We have to allow the emotions to come up so we can work with them." Jacinta teaches elegy workshops, helping people with a form of poetry that laments loss. While she doesn't promote staying stuck in grief, she said something that really resonated with me about tending to our grief. "I am not suggesting that we need to stay in a place of mourning, but I am sensitive to not washing over it. We have technology, social media, alcohol, television...we have so many ways to numb our grief. Part of our humanness is to go through grief. An elegy is a way we can pay attention creatively." Jacinta is the author of Resurrecting the Bones: Born From a Journey Through African American Churches & Cemeteries in the Rural South, She is the founder of The Word Project and Publisher & Editor-in-Chief @ Snapdragon: A Journal of Art & Healing   Mission: To engage and support persons in the process of self-discovery, expression, and healing through creative engagement with the arts.  Vision: Individuals and communities having a safe space and a platform to create a portrait of their experiences and hopes so that they may find the peace and healing balm authentic sharing provides that we might grow in our respect, appreciation and love of ourselves and one another. Learn more about Jacinta at https://www.poetryheals.com https://www.snapdragonjournal.com https://www.resurrectingthebones.com   https://www.finishinglinepress.com/product/broken-ritual-by-jacinta-victoria/