•Sacred 4• with Poet Yenia Jimenez

Four curated questions to highlight Independent Native Creators

Meet Yenia Jimenez. Mother, Poet, Independent Published Author and Community Advocate by way of San Francisco, CA.

Let’s learn more about her journey and struggles as an Independent Brown Author and Mother.

1.- We’re living in a time where mainstream society seems to be dedicated to blurring the lines between anything and everything, homogenizing life.

As a brown woman. What does it mean to you to be an original author REPRESENTING for the Indigenous Divine Feminine?

• As a brown woman I feel it is my duty and diligence to highlight issues that affect our brown women and most importantly those who are voiceless or no longer here. Women have systematically been oppressed for generations. I feel as a poet, mother, and community advocate I need to represent and use this form of art to talk about these issues and raise awareness, and healing as words are spellS!! They hold meaning and with them we have to lead with intentionality to hold space with others and with ourselves.

2.-When did you begin to write poetry and what inspired you to start? 

• I began writing as a kid. A group called ‘Youth Speaks’ would come to our school assembly and I remember how inspired I Was by them. I wrote my first poem then in 2nd grade. I then would participate in writing workshops at school but was super shy and did not like being vulnerable and center of the attention when sharing out loud so I gave up writing until I picked up The rose That grew from concrete in high school. I was one of those kids that was so rebellious I was never in class but loved to chill with my librarian who pointed at some new books and I saw that one kind of stand out. I picked it up and literally it brought me to tears because a lot of it was how I felt and it was so amazing to me how someone who appeared to not have a soft side to them is portrayed as this hard ass tough guy had such a soft poetic side to him. I remember reading that whole book in one sitting and from then on I was inspired, and in admiration to write my truths and my experiences to be able to heal myself.

3.-How does your artistic expression help you maintain balance as a provider, mother and individual?

• As a mother it helps me release a lot of anxiety and stress that I carry inside. I feel the release of emotions to write is helpful to be able to release all those stressors to be more present with my child. Poetry can be anything; sometimes it isn’t even poems about my current situation but just being able to release any anxieties and narrow my focus to write and be still is healing for me. As someone with ADHD and Anxiety, Depression, Poetry saved my life. If it wasn’t for poetry, prose. I would have lost my MIND. I see it as a form of self care. Now I have been fortunate enough to be able to take my talent and develop it further in ways that I didn’t know I was able. I’ve facilitated workshops, I’ve self published, I inspired my little one to start his own book legacy.

4.-As a cultural representative of Native Women, what would you hope to help heal through your work in the arts? 

• I hope to be able to inspire other women to write! To share their stories. To be the voice for the voiceless. To not hold their tongue for anyone! To use their tongue as a weapon to destroy patriarchy. I hope to help other women heal, and to inspire them.

Anything you would like to add or promote: 

I am releasing my next poetry book: An Ode To Brown Girls Everywhere this summer. It is my second release of self published poetry. I am excited to put my work into the universe again!

To learn more about Yenia’s releases follow her on IG @nopalesmadre