JESSE JAMES ZIEGLER INTERVIEW
by J.Macon King Sept. 30, 2024
MillValleyLit: Poet Laureate is a very cool title, which probably gives some folks visions of Robert Frost. Even though, surprise! Frost somehow was never designated our official national Laureate. I’m going to try that out as a bar bet. Anyway, Jesse, pull back the curtain for us—what is it really like to be a modern Poet Laureate in such a big vibrant city as Reno?
Jesse: I am honored to serve as the ambassador of the art form to the entire Truckee Meadows region as poetry has always been my first love. Poetry is the language of bridge building, activism, catharsis, edification and love. I intend to further the art form in our region through community building and community service. There are ample opportunities to fulfill all of these goals which are bound only by my imagination and willingness to put myself out there in a bravely vulnerable way.
I’m trying in my tenure to far-ahead exceed the minimum requirements for the position (four city sponsored events per year across two years) and stretch the limits of what the role can and should entail. In today’s world there are countless opportunities as Poet Laureate to do crossover events (ie Dance and Poetry, Jazz and Poetry, Theatre and Poetry, Live Painting and Poetry etc.) which all help with cross pollination of genres and event support from audience members.
I absolutely love that poetry can be sprinkled anywhere. I have had the opportunity to share at weddings, celebrations of life, birthdays, opening receptions, parties, workshops, nature hikes, open mics, showcases, corporate gatherings, special events, fundraisers, festivals, literary crawls, and keynote addresses.
MillValleyLit: When I have told some about a poetry event that I was hosting or reading, or say promoting a poet’s work that I have published, some told me point blank, “I don’t like poetry.” Have you encountered that, and how do you, or would you respond?
Jesse: I have encountered many who have said they don’t like poetry. I usually ask them if there are any poets they do like and when was the last time they listened to poetry. Usually the responses I get are “not particularly” and “probably in high school” respectively. I encourage them to try searching for poetry about subjects that interest them on YouTube with regards to performance poetry videos. Most people dislike the academic formal page poetry that gets shoved at them when it’s mandatory for school. They’ve never had the course of their life altered by a brilliant performance in the oral tradition however and in a certain sense are waiting to be moved by it.
MillValleyLit: I loved all the poetry high school English exposed. Many fellow students not so much, and most seemed to really dislike the epics—”Evangeline,” “Rime of the Ancient Mariner” and so on. But I particularly enjoy narrative poems. And I compose some—just not epic length.
Jesse, tell us a little about how you grew up.
Jesse: I grew up in gold country in the Sierra Nevada foothills on six and a half acres with all sorts of animals around. I never knew my biological father. My Dad came into my life when I was approximately three and a half years old and I’ve always been very close to my Mom. I went to a very small school from preschool through eighth grade. I went to Bear River High School in Grass Valley, California. I had a wild imagination growing up. My favorite things to do involved playing with Legos, going on magical quests with my dogs, climbing in trees, and of course writing.
MillValleyLit: How did you “decide” you wanted to be more than a doggerelist, or that you actually were a poet?
Jesse: In third grade I won a blue ribbon for a poem I wrote about the Easter Bunny in a school wide creative arts competition around Easter time. It was the first thing I remember being praised for that I cared about. I knew then that poetry would always at least be a hobby of mine. As with any hobby I have always wanted to improve and gain experience at the pastime.
MillValleyLit: The Easter Bunny. Love it. Was there a mature “aha” moment?
Jesse: The moment that sticks out to me about wanting to take it even more seriously, as in my primary focus, was November 8th, 2016 when the election results were pouring in. My instinct was to turn to poetry to process and understand what was shifting in the world. I recognized very clearly that evening that poetry was what I was put on this earth to do. I was meant to create and serve community through the art form somehow. I already had the personal goal of being the city’s poet laureate when I first found out about it shortly after moving to Reno in September of 2014. This added fuel to the fire and focus to my discipline.
MillValleyLit: Who were your early non-famed encouragers for your poetry?
Jesse: My favorite teacher Ms. Carla Nordstrom was always an encouragement towards both reading and writing in elementary school and junior high. My Dad first introduced me to a poem he loved when I was a very little boy. Mr. Michael Blake was my Freshman English teacher in high school and always an encouragement as well. I didn’t start sharing poetry with friends until halfway through high school and that was mostly self-deprecating humor poetry in attempts to make others laugh.
MillValleyLit: And your famed poets or poetic style influencers?
Jesse: Very early on I was drawn to Dr. Seuss and Shel Silverstein. Later John Keats, William Shakespeare, John Donne and Edgar Allan Poe, Emily Dickinson and Sylvia Plath. I have always loved rap and hip-hop music as an influence to my poetry.
MillValleyLit: I did note the hip-hop\rap rhythms and attitude in a poem I heard you recite. Who you like?
Jesse: Kendrick Lamar, Eminem, Nas, LL Cool J, Naughty by Nature, Big Sean, Black Thought, Mally, Brother Ali, NF, Tupac, Wu Tang Clan, Fat Boys, Da Lench Mob, Snoop, Dr. Dre, Ice Cube. When I first discovered Def Poetry Jam I fell in love with Black Ice, Michelle Myers, Beau Sia, Mos Def, and several others.
MillValleyLit: All right. Thanks to having tried to stay current with my two kids and their friends, even I know many of those. And how about current poets now?
Jesse: Most recently, since moving to Reno, I have loved and continue to love so many poets. Andrea Gibson, Brandon Leake, Siarra Freeman, Harry Baker, Fariha Roisin, Rudy Francisco, Ebony Stewart, Ashlee Haze, Sekou, Derrick C. Brown, Buddy Wakefield, Brendan Constantine, Ollie Schminkey, Nikita Gill, Jessica Care Moore, Natalie Diaz, Lacey Roop, Stephen Willis, Darius Simpson, Jamie Louise Madigan, Anis Mojgani, Ashley Vargas and all the amazing poets I know locally, who inspire me as well.
MillValleyLit: That’s a lot of poets! You must really love poets. How about favorite poems that we might know of, or look up?
Jesse: Here’s a list:
“If” by Rudyard Kipling
“Annabel Lee” by Edgar Allan Poe
Shakespeare’s “Sonnet 116”
“The Man in the Glass” by Dale Wimbrow
“The Facts of Life” by Padraig OTuama
“Wonderful” by Harry Baker
“A lot like you” by Rudy Francisco
“Hymn” by Ashlee Haze
MillValleyLit: Delighted to see the magnificent melancholic yet inexplicably under-rated Poe on your list. And that’s a lot of favorites! You must really love poetry. [both laugh]
Jesse: Off the top of my head. I could come up with many more if I took more time. This is a relatively short list of personal faves though.
MillValleyLit: From what I have heard you read, you have a mix of styles in your “quiver.” Is there a style that you would ascribe to yourself, or which you’re particularly drawn to?
Jesse: I also love what’s referred to as epic poetry, as you mentioned, and drawn to long form verse. I’m especially drawn to the genre of magical realism.
MillValleyLit: I have said this for over a dozen years, that there appears to be a renaissance of the arts, including writing and poetry. The web, blogs, social media and alternate publishing options that became available are a boon. And look at the creativity springing from Burning Man, right in Reno’s back yard. I feel that the “personal arts” is thriving as a push back to the endless ilk of contentious media and times, vacuous “blockbusters” and “best sellers” and to big media “gatekeepers,” who make it challenging for creatives to break through established channels. What are your thoughts from your long-time participation in the arts, and now as a public figure and figurehead?
Jesse: I believe we are living in a golden age of both poetry and television. Because of access to streaming platforms, personal blogs, independent studios, social media, self-publishing opportunities and overall internet access there has been, in recent years, a democratization of fame in a sense. In a post-Covid world, people are hungry to gather in person and meet face to face. As such open mics are flourishing and people are expanding their concept of chosen family. All these aspects are leading to poetry being more mainstream and more easily accessible for the general public to absorb. I love it.
MillValleyLit: Being a poet myself, and having met and known numerous poets, and knowing that a poet’s fame, and particularly fortune, chances are typically slim to fleeting, I ask you this. Would you speak to the “career path” that you have chosen, or which one might say, chose you?
Jesse: I’d love to be the Nevada State Poet Laureate someday. Until then I will continue to hold a steady job with a set schedule that does not compete mentally, physically, emotionally or spiritually with my poetic goals and yet covers bills and offers me benefits. I am a paid weekly creative director and host for Monday Night Poetry and want to continue being a paid host, special event performer and key note speaker. I’m also working three part time volunteer jobs which will lead to additional opportunities moving forward.
MillValleyLit: The poetry I have heard at your readings has been very positive and upbeat. Have you a “dark side?”
Jesse: I do have a dark side. Very much so. That is why so much of what I share is filled with hope, positivity and upbeat nature. It is the way I pray, process, heal, approach therapy, and share with others. Focusing on despair and destruction always leaves me in a pit emotionally and mentally. I don’t want to make others feel that way if I can help it. I need to be honest about the abyss while formulating the light in the darkness as well.
MillValleyLit: What does your Magic 8 Ball predict for you in the future, Jesse?
Jesse: As previously stated I’m working to be the future Nevada State Poet Laureate. I’d also love to attend the UNR Low Residency Program at UNR Tahoe in Incline Village for their Creative Writing MFA program with a concentration in Poetry. I never finished the MA in English at Cal Poly that I started over twenty years ago. I’ve always wanted to go back and complete an advanced degree in my chosen craft.
I hope to make it to Alaska and Antarctica someday as I have already been to the other 49 states and the other 6 continents. I will also continue to become more involved with my church and the Hospice organization while continuing my current passion projects.
More of Jesse James Ziegler:
Profile here.
Poetry here with exclusive publishing premier of Jesse’s “The Perfect Day.”
Read San Francisco’s 8th and current Poet Laureate Tongo Eisen-Martin interview by Jeff Kaliss. The 9th has been announced, Genny Lim.