Brawley native inspires young writers
With her highly-praised book recently published, Brawley native Jennifer Givhan hopes to use her success to show other aspiring writers in her community that a career in writing is possible — even without the resources of metropolitan America. “I wanted to share it with the community to inspire other young writers. There was no poetry scene while I was growing up,” commented Givhan.
After a seven-year process, Givhan was finally able to publish her first collection of poetry. Her new book “Landscape with Headless Mama” is a collection of poems that take place in an Imperial Valley-inspired setting and tell the experiences of becoming and being a Latina mother through the lens of dark fairy tales.
Her second book is set to be released in February and will be based around the farm working experience in the Imperial Valley.
Givhan’s passion for poetry began at a very young age. After hearing her parents read books and recite children’s poems to her, she would go on to fall in love with the idea of books and knew she wanted to be a part of it for the rest of her life.
During her time spent at Brawley Union High School, Givhan drew great inspiration from her English teacher Mr. Croughan. After telling Croughan about her passion, he would support her by giving words of encouragement and nominating her into a high school writing competition.
The most cherished memory Givhan has of her teacher is when he gave her a post card with a picture of New York on it. The post card symbolized Croughan’s faith in Givhan to achieve her dream of having a book published under a big time New York publishing company.
At the time, Givhan thought of herself as a writer but never considered the possibility of it being a serious career option. It wasn’t until after graduating in 2001 that she pursued the craft with great passion.
“It was just a passion, I just knew I had to,” she said.
Givhan would perfect her writing skills throughout her time spent in college by earning two master’s degrees, one in English and one in poetry. Since then, she has been the recipient of prestigious writing awards such as a National Endowment for the Arts Fellowship in Poetry and a PEN/Rosenthal Emerging Voices Fellowship.
The accomplished writer proudly continues to use her experiences from the Imperial Valley to influence her writing. She continues to fight against the stigma that some editors have against her writing, claiming that her style would not be accepted by a broader audience.
“It’s been a struggle that I’m going to continue taking on and one that I want other young writers to take on to show our experience really is valid,” stated Givhan.
Currently living in New Mexico, Givhan hopes to return to the Imperial Valley and inspire the community by hosting workshops and teaching writing classes.
“The writing community is out there, even though it’s not local,” stated Givhan, who strongly encourages young writers to connect and reach out if there are no local writers.
She has stated that there are a vast number of people out there, especially online, that are ready to help new and younger writers.
Not only does Givhan wish to share the career aspect of writing, but the aspect of hope that writing can bring as well.
“I want anyone who wanted to tell a story to find their voice,” stated Givhan, who believes that writing has been life-saving for her in times of difficult situations and traumatic events.
With the released of her new book, she hopes it will serve as inspiration and a sense of community for those young writers with no support or direction to go to.
“For those who feel a sense of hope from writing, I want to be able to share that. I hope that’s what the book does,” she said.
Her book “Landscape with Headless Mama” is available for pre-order on Amazon.com and will be released on Oct. 3.