Building a Community Through Poetry
One thing is for sure, humans are drawn to communities that accept them as they are. What better way to do that than through poetry? Poetry is a way to tell our truths and let others know they’re in like-minded company.
What community building can do
Use that poetry as an effective way to build a strong community around you. Leah James is a pro at this. She says, “My lane is loving people. If people aren’t being touched by anything I’m saying, I might as well sit down and shut up.”
Why is community so important? What can a community do for you? Aside from that community becoming a source of love and comfort, they can become a support system. For example, Leah started a non-poetry project, and her community showed up for her.
She explains, “Me and my girl partnered together to do a clothing drive. It was a store where people came to shop and take stuff for free. And it was so cool. And just from doing poetry, people knew who I was so they came. I’m really surrounded by people who love and support me, and I really want other people to experience that as well.”
Leah’s last point is a good one. She wants “other people to experience that as well.” Which is something you can see in the way she carries herself and her brand. When you use your poetry to build community, you are allowing others to feel supported.
Leverage your poetry community and get each other paid
Often, there’s a stigma around poets making the shift from doing this for the love to also doing it for the money. Poetry, like anything else, can be more than a hobby and has monetary value. And why wouldn’t you leverage the community you’ve built to bring in money that can help get the ball rolling for you and your community?
Leah agrees: “It’s okay to get paid, you know. I host events. My friends can perform for me and I can perform for them. That’s a community thing, you know The goal is to get each other paid. You’ve got to start from somewhere. Those $50 events I did built little bricks in my foundation.”
It’s the common approach: start small and work your way up. You’ve got to start somewhere, so why not start with community events that bring you $50 or $100. Then keep building off of that and expanding your community’s reach.
What has the community done for Leah James?
We’ve talked about how to use poetry to build community and to use that community to help one another start getting paid for poetry. But what has Leah’s community done for her and her career?
In short, her community has given her confidence and a support system.
Leah says, “I’m starting to diversify my talents and not just my income. A lot of people that I’ve met through poetry are actors and are now teaching me how to get into acting. I have a guitar, and I wanted to learn to play the guitar and sing. So poetry has given me the confidence to get into other industries.”
Having the support of a poetry community behind you can boost you and your career in ways you maybe never imagined. Give it a shot!
Be sure to listen to our full conversation with Leah James on the Poet Life Podcast. You’ll learn more about her story and where she’s headed next.
Leah has taken all of her life experience and has turned it into art. She has a heart for the world and expresses it through her spoken word and in her everyday life. Her ultimate goal is to be the woman God created her to be while helping others get closer to our creator and have the pressure of life lifted through love.
To read more about the different things Leah has been through and how she has over come, you can read her Blog here.
