Hey book-lover, how are you? Today we are going to interview Jen Feroze. She has been in love with language for as long as she can remember. A former Foyle Young Poet of the Year, her poetry has appeared in national and international journals and anthologies. The Colour of Hope is her debut collection. Jen is a bookworm with a love of baking, conversation that makes your brain fizz and really good cheese. She lives by the sea in Essex with her husband and two young children.
Kangkan: How did you find poetry? Or, how did poetry find you? Jen: I remember learning about haiku in primary school, aged about 8, and finding it amazing the way you could make such vivid pictures with so few words. When I was 16 I was a winner of the Foyle Young Poet of the Year award, and as part of the prize I went on a week’s writing retreat with the Arvon Foundation at Lumb Bank in Yorkshire. I can honestly say that week changed my life and made me realise how important poetry is to me. Since then I’ve always written, really. I’ve found ways to fit poetry in and around the rest of my life, and certainly in the last 18 months or so it’s become a really therapeutic practice for me.
Kangkan: 2020 was a curse for everyone in this world. But you have set an example of how we can convert our bad times into good times by writing your debut poetry book ‘The Colour of Hope: Poems of Happiness in Uncertain Times’. I have gone through a few poetries of this beautiful collection and I am impressed by the poetic environment offered by the poetries. What are your expectations from this book and what a reader can expect from Colour of Hope?
Jen: Thank you, that’s lovely of you to say! This collection grew organically and very quickly, and was really about cheering people up. It started out as a way to make a friend feel better - I asked her to send me three things that would make her happy, and then turned them into a poem for her. She shared it on her social media and I started getting some more requests to write others, and after I’d done a handful of them I realised there was the possibility of a collection here. My hope is that the poems in here will connect with people and help them to look forward and feel uplifted.
Kangkan: What is your favourite poem in this collection? I know it's a tough call. Haha.
Jen: Argh, that’s a hard one to answer! Several of them are favourites for different reasons. There are some like ‘For Sarah’ and ‘For Charlotte’ where the imagery feels particularly pleasing to me. ‘For Emma’ and ‘For Rachel’ were written for two of my oldest friends, which is something very special, and then ‘For Emily’ is a favourite as the brief I was given was amazing but challenging to fit together (Ceilidh dancing, graffiti in London tunnels, Balinese gamelan music and living on a houseboat), and I was really happy with the way it worked in the end!
Kangkan: Whom do you show your poetries right after writing?Jen: Until fairly recently I didn’t share drafts with anyone, I’d walk away from them and come back a few days later with fresher eyes to tweak and polish, and that’s been my process for the poems in this collection - lots of rigorous self editing! But in June of last year I joined the instagram poetry community, and have found it to be a spectacular source of support and inspiration. I’ve made some great friends through sharing poetry there, and can’t wait until lockdown restrictions in the UK are lifted so that I can meet some of them in real life! You can find me on instagram
@the_colourofhope .
Kangkan: Apart from writing poetries, what are the other things you think that you can do easily but others can't?
Jen: I quite enjoy public speaking, even though I do still get nervous. I can also speak French and I make a mean Black Forest Gateau, haha.
Kangkan: What are you currently working on?
Jen: I went through a little bit of a poetic dry spell after my daughter was born in 2016, and I’m only recently finding myself able to put some of my feelings about motherhood into words, so I’m enjoying writing poetry for and about my children at the moment. I’m also trying my hand at submitting to various journals and competitions, so we’ll see what happens!
Kangkan: Any contemporary poets you follow?
Jen:Yes, I’m inspired by so many people! Kate Clanchy and Maura Dooley are two firm favourites whose work I go back to again and again. I’ve also recently been totally blown away by John McCullough’s ‘Reckless Paper Birds’. The instagram community is bursting with incredible talent, too. Some particular favourites are Kristiana Reed (@kristianamst) Katy Luxem (@katyluxem) and Karan Chambers (@writer.interrupted), although there are lots more!
Kangkan: Now I am going to ask you three questions which are popular among the readers of "kmgreads". I ask these three questions to all the guests of Creator's Conversations.
1. Nikita Gill, a famous poet on social media once said in an interview, "Eight billion people are living their life in eight billion ways."- what is your way of living life?
Jen: Making sure there is something to laugh about every day, and keeping the biscuit tin replenished on a regular basis!
2. Tell us a secret of your life that you have not shared with anybody.
Jen: I’d love to voice a character in a Disney film!
3.There are so many readers of my blog who want to become full-time writers. What will be your message to them?
Jen: If you love it, keep doing it. Work out ways to squeeze it into your life and make it part of your daily ritual.
Kangkan: Thank you for your time. I hope you will come again and then we will chat more.
Hi, do you blog/review historical fiction? My new historical novel, Guardians at the Wall, comes out on 1st June. Can I send you z free ebook copy to see if it tickles your fancy? This would be in mid-May.
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