Before The Book Meets The World
THE JOURNEY WE TAKE
Behind the pages of a book not yet released.
Behind the Pages of Where Light Still Lives
Lately, I've been taking a closer look at a book that hasn't quite made its way into the world yet. Where Light Still Lives has been growing through years of thoughts, questions, personal experiences, and moments I've tried to make sense of through writing. And while the poems themselves hold pieces of those experiences, there is often an entire world behind the words that never makes it onto the page.
That's what I've been exploring through the latest episodes of The Journey We Take Podcast.
Rather than simply sharing poetry, I've been revisiting the inspiration behind it all. The questions that started certain pieces, the ideas that continued to follow me long after I put the pen down, and the themes that began connecting poems I hadn't initially realized belonged together. Each section of the book explores a different part of the human experience, but the more I revisit it, the more I realize how closely those experiences are connected. How we perceive the world influences how we understand ourselves. How we understand ourselves influences the way we connect with others. And the people we allow into our lives often leave us questioning things we thought we already understood.
Somewhere in that process, poetry becomes more than a way to express a feeling. It becomes a way to examine it.
Looking Beyond the Words
The recent podcast episodes have taken listeners through the first sections of Where Light Still Lives, beginning with our relationship with perception, time, and existence before turning inward toward identity, memory, and the versions of ourselves we carry throughout life.
These conversations have given me the chance to revisit the thoughts behind the poems without necessarily explaining every line or giving away the entire collection. Sometimes, returning to an idea years after writing about it allows me to see it differently. Other times, I find myself asking the same questions I was asking when the words first came to me.
I don't always think poetry needs an explanation. Part of what makes it meaningful is the space it leaves for someone else to find their own story within it.
But I do love sharing a little of what existed before the finished piece.. The thought that wouldn't leave me alone, the feeling I couldn't quite name, or the realization that slowly took shape while I was writing. It's a different way of experiencing the work, both for me and for anyone listening. And the latest episode takes us into a particularly complicated part of that experience.
Love, Illusion, and Everything In Between
Love is the focus of the latest installment in the series, and perhaps one of the most complicated subjects to explore through poetry. We often talk about love as though its meaning is obvious. We know what it feels like to care for someone, to miss them, or to imagine a future with them. But what happens when the reality of a relationship begins to look different from the future we envisioned? What happens when we become attached not only to the person in front of us, but also to the possibility of who they might become? And how do we make peace with the fact that something can be genuine, meaningful, and still not be meant to last? These are some of the questions at the heart of Love, Illusion, Entanglement, the third section of Where Light Still Lives.
In this episode, I reflect on the subtle ways we recognize when something is changing, the complicated relationship between passion and pain, and why letting go can be difficult even when we understand that something has ended. One of the ideas I kept returning to while writing this section is that something doesn't have to be fake to be wrong for us.
Sometimes the connection was real. The feelings were real. The memories still matter. But the future we imagined may never have been possible in the way we believed it would be.
I find that distinction much more interesting than simply looking back on a relationship and deciding that it was all a mistake. Human experiences are rarely that simple, and I think our writing should leave room for that complexity.
The poems in this section explore different sides of that experience, from recognizing truths we aren't ready to accept to questioning why certain relationships can feel so consuming. They also leave room for a different understanding of love; one that considers what it takes to nurture something beyond the initial feeling. Because while love can change us in ways we never anticipated, I don't believe that means we should become cynical about it. Perhaps the more interesting question is what we learn about ourselves through the experience of loving someone.
You can listen to the latest episode of The Journey We Take to hear more about the ideas and inspiration behind this section.
A Little More of the Journey
As this series continues, I'll be sharing more glimpses into Where Light Still Lives, including the thoughts behind individual poems and the themes that connect the collection as a whole. I've also been adding pieces of the process to the Lantern Room on my website, where you can find additional reflections, full poems, and other behind-the-scenes content as the book unfolds.
I like the idea of letting this collection have a life before its official release. Rather than waiting until the book is finished and ready to be shared, I get to open little windows into the world I've been creating and invite you to explore it with me. And maybe that's fitting for a book called Where Light Still Lives. Writing has always been one of the ways I return to the things I don't fully understand. Sometimes the words provide an answer, but more often, they help me ask a better question. I hope these episodes offer a little of that experience to you, too. You don't have to be a poet to find yourself in a poem. You only have to recognize something familiar in the words, even if your own experience of it looks completely different.
If you've been listening along, thank you for being part of this process. And if you're just finding your way here, welcome. There's still more to share, more to explore, and plenty of pages left to uncover.
Until the book finds its way into the world, I'll meet you here, in the words, in the questions, and in everything that lives between them.
— Janellie Wells
Explore the latest episodes of The Journey We Take Podcast and visit the offical website to find the Lantern Room and follow the journey behind Where Light Still Lives.
Comments