Libby Jenner on unfurling her wings to heal through poetry

Following the successful launch of her second published poetry book, Wings Unfurled, we were overjoyed to speak with poet and author Libby Jenner about her poetry inspiration, writing process, and how poetry has been a powerful tool to help her with mental health and to heal traumas.

Wings Unfurled depicts how self-love, growth, and mental health recovery have changed in necessity and direction for the protagonist during adulthood. And how her sense of self both falters and soars as she navigates the next season of her life.

Follow the emerging woman through ferocious flames, whispering winds, nurturing soils, and unpredictable waves as she releases her voice from its cage and unseals her wings against the pounding of new-found pressures.

Perhaps your own wings will unfurl along the way, too.

1. Firstly I wanted to talk about the title of the book and its significance following on from your first book. How would you describe the journey of this book in relation to your first?

Wings Unfurled is set immediately after don’t be shy, dearest butterfly and the title relates to this transition. In dbsdb (for short) it is about coaxing the protagonist out of her cocoon so she can find her voice, learn to love herself, and understand her emotions: the character begins as a young teen and heals in a garden sanctuary for four years before moving onto her next phase, which is Wings Unfurled. As the name suggests, the protagonist has found her wings and is finding out how to soar as she transitions into adulthood: this is also why I intentionally capitalised the second book whilst leaving the debut lower cased as I wanted it to represent her growth in confidence! Regarding the journey of the book, dbsdb has a relatively positive drive of hope and self-discovery; there are multiple poems about mental health and challenges she faces but, overall, the book has a clear empowering narrative. In the second book, there is still the themes of self-love, but it is more vulnerable with discussing anxiety and has a different approach to how she is finding ways to love herself as she navigates adulthood. 

2. Chapter one is written in prose rather than poetry – why was it important to start the story off this way?

Alike to the first book, Wings Unfurled starts with prose because I want the readers to have an intimate connection with the protagonist, so they are rooting for her growth in her ongoing narrative of self-discovery! Additionally, the prose also gives context to The Elemental Butterflies which are on the front cover (beautifully illustrated by my best friend, Annabelle Windsor) and what they each represent: for example, The Water Butterfly helps the character with emotional blockages and releases, so the poems in that section centre on mental health and moving through change. 

3. The structure of the book is split into 4 sections, each representing a different elemental butterfly – why did you decide to structure the book this way? Did you decide on this structure first, or did you naturally write poetry which fit into these categories?

With dbsdb, the book is split into chapters covering four years and has poems for each season within it, so I knew with the next book I wanted a similar structure where I could explore different emotions and imagery. Most, if not all my poetry, is somewhat inspired by nature so harnessing the elements for my chapters was the perfect, although happily coincidental, structure! 

4. Is there an element you relate to the most? And which element or section of the book did you find most challenging?

During the writing stage, I was relating more to the element of water as I was experiencing an intense period of anxiety, which this section covers, but I was also learning a lot about my emotions and how to unpack them which is a huge component to that chapter! However, recently I have felt very empowered, so fire is most relatable: flames spread rapidly and have such intense power and when I feel my self-love starting to radiate it consumes my life like a wildfire! Earth is my default element for writing, though, as I am so inspired by blooming flowers and wilderness walks, which the poetry pals that follow me on social media will recognise. And that leaves air, which is the element I found most challenging to write poetry for as I struggled to conjure creative imagery for it compared to the other elements! 

5. You play with the structure and layout, such as in the poem Balancing the Sun and Moon, where the words climb up the page to demonstrate climbing a ladder. Is this artistic use of structure part of the expression of poetry?

Absolutely! Poetry does not have to just be the meaning of the words but the visualisation of them, too, and how they relate to the context of the poem! It’s a lot of fun to experiment with calligrams or the form of verses and you can embellish ample amounts of symbolism within your writing this way. In school, I adored analysing poetry to find the intent of the author’s work and how it relates to the poetic themes, kind of like easter eggs in films, so throughout both my books there’s an abundance of messages both in the poetry structure and words themselves. I’d like to imagine that like-minded poetry analysers would read my poems and try to decipher them by highlighting certain sections or scribbling theories onto the pages!

6. Tell us about your journey to becoming a poet - what drew you to writing poetry and what inspires you to work?

Writing has always been a passion of mine and I really loved writing descriptive stories as a child, but I always seemed to falter when it came to the dialogue or creating an unpredictable plot. I can’t remember exactly when I started writing poetry, but in secondary school I found that all the favourite components I had for short stories I could use for poetry, and I could really focus on forming imagery! Poetry then became a therapeutic outlet when I was experiencing a period of trauma at 15 and helped me to process my feelings so, at this point, it was a coping mechanism as opposed to inspired pieces of writing. Although when I was 17, I was grateful to have access to CBT and I noticed that my poetry began flourishing into words of hope rather than despair, so I decided to create an Instagram account the following year to share my words so that others could feel less alone. At the time the account was under a pseudonym, but I later decided to be confident with my words and use my real name: hence libbyjenner.poetry was born! Though poetry is still an emotional outlet, I find joy in writing about flowers, sunsets, the elements, self-love bursts and life itself. A simple walk around a park and I am scooping up stanzas about birds resting on branches and blossom trees beginning to bloom! This is what I love about being a poet: you have an incredible ability to see inspiration in the tiniest moments of awe in addition to life experiences. 

7. When writing poetry, do you feel like this is a healing journey for you?

Poetry has been so healing for my mental health and has really helped me navigate through trauma, troubles, life, love, and empowerment. But I do need to remind myself more often that writing, whether poetry or journal entries, is such a cathartic habit to hold onto as I fall in and out of having a writing routine! Recently, I have found myself experimenting with out creative mediums, like painting, to find serenity amidst chaos, yet I cannot imagine ever rejecting poetry as part of my healing journey when it helps me to both process and adore life! Being a poet feels like a natural way to gratefully romanticise existing, and the beauty of poetry is it can be about something multifaceted or completely mundane but either way you can make them equally as engaging!

8. What do you hope to express through your poetry, and what do you hope people take away from your writing?

My hope for my poetry is that it offers readers a sliver of sunlight to expose their true selves, where they can be offered a dose of empowerment that either starts or amplifies their self-love journey! But I also want the poetry pals to understand that they are powerful and loved whether they are blooming OR wilting, and that my words can offer solace in moments of despair in addition to hope. Poetry has offered a ladder out of many dark abyss’ so I can bask in the sun, and it would be an honour if my words helped someone to appreciate their existence or celebrate how much they have bloomed when seeking their own sunlight! 

9. Are you working on any new poetry? Are there more books in the future?

There is one more book in the Seasons of Self poetry series that don’t be shy, dearest butterfly and Wings Unfurled are a part of, but it is yet to be significantly spoken about… It has been composed over many years, some poems spanning back to when I was fifteen, and hopefully it will be out this year! I suppose you will have to follow my Instagram and TikTok to stay updated (apologies for the shameless plug). As many writers may experience, I have lots of ideas for books that are either scribbled into a random notebook, fumbled quickly onto my notes app, or randomly ongoing on a Word document that I am slowly cultivating when inspiration sweeps through. So, after this series is completed, I am excited to enter a new era of writing and see whether any of those ideas will make it past the scribble stage! I do have a passion for feminist fairytales and re-writings of folklore as I studied it for my dissertation last year, so a book around that theme is something for the poetry pals to potentially look forward to.

10. What achievement as a writer are you most proud of?

Aside from my book series, it absolutely must be my dissertation that I wrote for my Creative Writing degree. It is titled ‘Part of your Patriarchal World’ and critically explores how classical fairy tales depict the female archetype through a patriarchal lens, enforce heteronormativity, and induce misogynistic ideas of women which then impact what western society deems as acceptable forms of femininity. This was accompanied by a creative piece, which was a queer and feminist retelling of The Little Mermaid which I am so incredibly proud of. However, I would like to make a special mention to feeling proud of younger me for believing in her writing abilities, and for feeling both pride and gratitude towards the poetry pals that are part of my community for both inspiring and supporting me. 

Interview with Libby Jenner
Writer

Libby actively began writing poetry during secondary school as a therapeutic outlet. Years later, her painful retellings blossomed into self-love prose, so she created an Instagram account (libbyjenner.poetry) with an intent to create an online space where poetry lovers could feel an abundance of empowerment.

In her final year of university, Libby self-published her debut poetry and prose collection called ‘don’t be shy, dearest butterfly’ and has since graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Creative Writing.

In 2023, she released the second book in this poetry series called ‘Wings Unfurled’. Now living in Brighton, she has unfurled her own wings in a city that she has made her home.

You can follow Libby and find where to buy her books here.