Solitude and firelight
POET JAKE ST. JOHN GETS BACK TO NATURE FOR INSPIRATION
HOW TO FIND
Who: Jake St. John
What: A new poetry collection called "Night Full of Diamonds"
How much: $10
Available: www.amazon. com
If you want to know why poet Jake St. John found himself living alone in rustic and primitive solitude, it’s a good idea to read his subsequent new collection, “Night Full of Diamonds,” published this week by Whiskey City Press.
Of course, a generalized short answer for any creative process — we react to stuff as best we can — explains it to a certain extent. But that’s a far less profound, mesmerizing and evocative experience than reading the 50 poems in “Night Full of Diamonds.”
“I was at a unique point and a lot of life changes were happening to me and I ultimately found myself spending most nights alone in a one room fort at the edge of the woods next to a campfire,” says St. John on Tuesday. “I had a lot of time to think and reflect on all aspects of my life, and I really got to know myself.”
“Night Full of Diamonds” is available on www.Amazon.com.
St. John, who teaches fifth-grade language arts and social studies in the Ledyard Independent School District, has been active for years in New London as an organizer, participant and contributor to arts journals, poetry readings, and the Hygienic Art and Bean & Leaf poetry series. His previous collection, “Lost City Highway,” came out in 2019 from Chicago’s A Jabber Publications.
Over time, as with any committed artist, St. John developed his own style, exemplified by “Lost City Highway,” which captured his explorations of urban nuances and the eternal lure of another new town just down the highway. But “Night Full of Diamonds” is a radical departure, as if Kerouac suddenly veered offroad and landed in a verdant glen with Robert Frost, W.B. Yeats and Henry David Thoreau.
The poems are short, with clipped, almost urgent rhythms that somehow underscore the lovely descriptions of nighttime, firelight, nature, loneliness, and the hopeful possibilities of a new relationship.
Tonal shift
“The new book and these poems are definitely a different style from my earlier work, which was centered around New London and other cities,” St. John says. “The poems in ‘Night Full of Diamonds’ were written in the forests and firesides of rural America. I was able to see life from a completely different perspective.”
Taken separately, the pieces in the collection are quick-hit reads that conjure instant visuals and an immediate emotional response. But one poem rolls into another so that the cumulative effect is rather like a concept album — where each song stands on its own but contributes to a collective A-Z narrative.
“These poems all came from the same creative burst,” St. John says. “Each seemed to be an evolution of the one that came before. I enjoy arranging my books so the poems play off each other and tell a story — and I’ve enjoyed living the story this book tells.”
In terms of structure and content, “Night Full of Diamonds” has an overarching feel of melancholy and solitude, but St. John intersperses pieces of romantic discovery and joy to provide counterbalance and accurately reflect the variety of feelings the poet was experiencing over the course of writing the book. Plus, the romantic interludes — inspired by a
new relationship — eventually give deeper context to the entire work.
“At their core, all of the poems are based in love,” St. John says. “I had a lot of time to sit and think and come to realizations about many parts of myself. Sometimes you don't realize what or who is right in front of you. I realized I had fallen in love with one of my best friends and we were in the early stages of our new relationship. I would often send her poems when life (during pandemic) would keep us distracted — and eventually I began organizing them into what became ‘Night Full of Diamonds.' So, in all reality, these poems are, in the most basic form, a love letter.”
Help from his friends
St. John is quick to credit two fellow poets and close pals, New Orleans's Todd Cirillo and New York City's John Greiner, for advice and editing help.
“I sent early drafts of the book to both of those guys, looking for feedback,” St. John says. “I always enjoy hearing the critique and suggestions and reactions to my work. My favorite part of writing is the editing and revising.”
He explains both Cirillo and Greiner know how to respond in an editorial capacity rather than as friends — and that's a valuable distinction. Each provided detailed comments on everything from content to layout and St. John says, “Todd and John are two poets that I respect immensely, so I was honored to get their opinions and reactions.”
Cirillo, in an email, says, “What separates Jake, as a poet/writer, from most of the poets today is that he can craft a poem and is open to working seriously with an editor for the purpose of creating the clearest, cleanest and most affecting poem for the reader. Most poets today simply scribble their stuff and hit ‘post' on their social media. No craft, no care for quality — only quantity. Jake wants feedback and takes it seriously.”
This calls for Whiskey
When St. John felt “Night Full of Diamonds” was ready, he approached old friend John Patrick Robbins, who, as editor-in-chief of the Rye Whiskey Review and other poetry journals, had published some of the poet's work in the past. St. John was hoping to submit the manuscript to Whiskey City Press, a book imprint run by Robbins and co-publisher Scott Simmons.
“I was already aware of Jake's work and admired it, and in the years I have been running journals, I can recognize talent — so it was without hesitation that we quickly snapped this manuscript up,” Robbins says. He adds that the different stylistic tone of “Night Full of Diamonds” was particularly impressive. “(In the new book), Jake takes a few lines, cuts through the B.S. and speaks straight to the heart.
I always admire poets who truly get the economy of words — and Jake's work speaks to the reader's soul in a smooth voice that's completely his own.”
Though COVID restrictions are easing, St. John is still cautious about any live events in support of “Night Full of Diamonds.” Whiskey City is setting up some podcast interviews and sending copies of the volume to periodicals and journals for reviews. And while nothing certain is planned, St. John says he's exploring the idea of doing a few Zoom readings.
“These poems came from a deeply passionate and primal place,” he says. “Sitting under a starlit night with nothing but a fire can be lonely — but that's not always a bad thing.”