Recently, 2 Pens & Lint's own, Henry Duncan, had a chance to ask Jewel Lloyd a few questions concerning the tone of her poetry, what inspired her to start writing and her favorite places to perform.

Henry Duncan: Your poems have a very urban tone. Why do you feel the need to write about these subjects?

Jewel Lloyd: My poetry is a reflection of my life experiences ... my struggles, hopes and lessons learned, things I survived or witnessed. Writing them helps me to sort them out, examine them and understand my feelings. I’m a city girl, living in Philly, then Wilmington, DE, then moving back to Philly a two years ago. I guess that accounts for the urban tone of my poetry.

HD: In your poem How I Became So Cynical About “The Struggle” you write about the failure of it's leaders. What do we need as a people to overcome “The Struggle”?

JL: Actually, this poem is about the “mis-leaders”, the opportunists who really don’t care about the people. They use our yearnings for a real leader as a way to gain opportunities for themselves and for personal gain. They say what we want to hear and we believe their rhetoric. The cynicism comes in when we find out their words were just empty promises and discover we were just being used. These mis-leaders make it very hard for us to put our faith in any potential leader because we’ve been burned too often. Maybe this is to teach us to work together, instead of looking for one person to “Save us”. That’s really a lot to ask of one human being, when you think about it.

HD: What is the meaning of your title “Of Butterflies and Tears”?

JL: When my daughter was a young teen, I told her that one day I was going to publish a book of my poetry. She said “You should call it Of Butterflies And Tears”. I really liked that title, because it fit the kind of poems I wanted to include in my first book. Butterflies remind me of transformation, from ugly to beautiful, from struggle to triumph, from sleep to self awareness. The Tears represent the emotions Life brings out as we go through it.

HD: What inspired you to start writing poetry?

JL: Writing poetry began as a way to express my feelings, thoughts, hopes and fears when I couldn’t say them or had no one to say them to. When I write them down, I get to really think about what I want to say, to ensure the words say exactly what I mean, in the way I mean to say them. Sometimes I write to encourage, motivate or comfort myself. Other times, I write to understand how I got into a situation and to figure out a solution to the problem. Some poems I’ve written to a specific person and have actually given (or read) the poem to them--so they would know exactly how I felt. I’ve now been writing for such a long time, my poems have also (unintentionally) become a poetic journal of my life. I can see where I’ve been, how far I’ve come and gain perspective. Some poems remind me of past mistakes, so I don’t repeat them, others help me understand the person I was and the person I’ve become. Other poems were inspired by events that moved me so deeply, I had to write about them.

HD: What do want to accomplish with your poetry?

JL: I want people to be able to relate to my poetry and understand what I’m trying to say (even if they may not agree with it). I want my poetry to inspire, educate and motivate people. I’d like for certain poems to show people I’ve gone through some of the trials they are experiencing, that its not just them. Hopefully, I can also be a witness that you can come out a survivor or even be victorious, becoming stronger, wiser, better for having gone through it and coming out on the other side.

HD: How often do you perform and what venues do you frequent?

JL: Right now, I’m performing on a pretty regular basis, which is great! I’m usually at “Coffee After Dark” which is held every Thursday from 6:30 pm to 9:pm at the Wired Beans Café (6736 Germantown Ave). I’m also on the Open Mic at the Clef Club Plethora, which is held monthly at The Phila. Clef Club at 7pm (736 S. Broad and Fitzwater St). I also have become a regular at The Art Of Conversation PHILLY, which is held the first Monday in the month at 7:30 pm at The Arts Garage (1533 Ridge Ave). In addition, I try to go to Panoramic Poetry as often as possible on the First and Last Sunday monthly, at the 7165 Lounge (7165 Germantown Ave). Panoramic Poetry was the first venue I performed in when I returned to Philly. Crucial Poet (the Host of Panoramic Poetry, which is also held the second and third Fridays monthly at the October Gallery) made me feel very welcome. His encouragement gave me the confidence to start performing again, which motivated me to keep going to the place I’m at now, in my Poetry Life.