Lavender is excited to introduce a new recurring column of poetry written by Jamez L. Smith that he calls “Jamez Sitings.” A Minneapolis-based DJ, host of “Same As It Ever Was” on KRSM 98.9 FM, and poet, Jamez said that he started writing poetry when he was 12 years old.

“I didn’t have anyone to talk to, so I kept a notebook in which I would write letters to God,” said Jamez. “I would actually start each entry with “Dear God”. Eventually, I grew out of that and learned about journaling. I also attempted to write songs (with no understanding of how to write music). In my twenties, a friend asked if she could look through one of my song books. She commented that, while she could see how they would make good songs, the words stood on their own as poetry. In 1991, I attended the Out/Write Conference in San Francisco. There, I met Assotto Saint, who signed me on with Galiens Press. My first poem was published in The Road Before Us: 100 Gay Black Poets.”

Smith describes his artistic process for poetry as such: “It’s freeform. It’s random. It’s spontaneous. I write in response to my life experiences, my feelings, my hopes, my literal dreams. Sometimes there’s structure. Usually, there isn’t.”

Spirit Older Than Christ