From the words of Wikipedia, a poet is one that studies and creates poetry. The work of a poet is essentially one of communication, expressing ideas either in a literal sense or metaphorically. Poets have existed since prehistory. After reading only one of Jeffery Nunnally's (better known as LJthePoet) artistic poems you can see he's an old soul encased in a young man's body. "Most of time we're alone together, but sometimes we have so much space between us, that we forget to breathe until the other exhales. I don't want to go to the moon, just watch it with me. -- LJthePoet" LJthePoet was raised in Opa-Locka, Florida. Opa-Locka made a name for itself for being one of the roughest cities in Florida, having tough skin was an understatement. For LJ, having a tougher outer shell was major but his inner self held a soft spot for the "art of words". He learned he had a gift for literary word play at the young age of 15 but he kept his writings a secret because he feared ridicule from his peers. You can only imagine a teenager writing love poems around a bunch of other teenagers who wanted to be the next Nino Brown or Notorious B.I.G. So keeping his poetry under lock and key was essential for LJ.
"I thought I knew what love was through watching sitcoms and their unrealistic romance, but in my writing I knew I wanted it to feel real."
The River's Edge Writers been following LJthePoet on Instagram for a while now, enjoying his poetic post. But after reading over his answers to our questionnaire realized why he intrigued us so. We asked him who his favorite author was and like most poets who write in the manner LJ writes, Edgar Allan Poe was the first to jump from his fingertips. The other author he named has been "this author's" favorite ever since he seen the movie "Christine". Stephen King has been the bar and caliber to the level of artistic writing most literary creatives try to accomplish. I as an author myself and a fan of the man, now see why LJ strives to be the best at his craft. The persona of the two lit a match and became bottled lightening deep inside of the young man. But readings of his favorites aren't the only motivations that push this poet towards the word play he creates. As many have heard and scientifically proven, music soothes the beast. I told y'all LJ is an old soul and the melodic sirens from Anita Baker along with the raspy blues voice of John Mayer aids in the creativity of this poet's works. LJ refers to his writings as chaotic at times, but the flow is effortless with the right combinations he forms together.
LJ's inspiration to keep pushing forward comes from seeing the drive in his parents. Seeing how his parents never gave up on the navigation we all call life and came out unscathed but not unchallenged. The determination he seen in them pushed him to be greater, stronger and thriving in his works. In poet fashion, LJ is the metaphorical puppet master to his poems, creating a dance and scene for your mind's eye. Oddly, this young man has yet to release a collection of his poetry in book form but it's not stopping him. He visualizes having his name printed across a book cover soon and we all know, you have to visualize it first. Like his favorite authors, LJ desires longevity in his career as a poet but most of all he wants his words to be a comfort to his readers. A reflection that allows a connection between the poet, their poetry and the scholar who is enjoying it all. Now don't give up hope that you can only enjoy LJ's works on Instagram, he got you covered. The young man jumped on the podcast train like a lot of others such as "Drink Champs" and "Joe Rogan Experience". You can hear in depth debates right along with some of his spoken word play on "Dem Poptartz" podcast.
LJ has a deep passion for the art of literary creativity in poetry and it shows through the fans he has met. It's another inspiration for him to continue, hearing the love of his writings. Especially about the erotic poetry he creates, that bring on curiosity of if the poems are from fact or fiction. "It stopped being yours a while ago, I'm your interior designer. Let me show you around your own pussy. These walls are melting with my name -- LJthePoet" The word play he puts together is always short and sweet but holds heavy in thought when you read it. It's a craft that few have learned to accomplish but this young man has done it on many occasions with his works. I could go on and on dropping quotes or poems he has writing for his followers, but I will leave it up to you to go search for the artist known as LJthePoet. But we will leave this link right here to make it easier for you. http://www.instagram.com/ljthepoet
First, The River's Edge Writers would like to thank you for joining us today to celebrate in shining the light on such a talented young brother. We want to thank LJthePoet with trusting in us to shine a rightful light on his talents and to help others to discover what we seen a long time ago. So to you, our readers and LJthePoet, we salute you. And if you know of a literary creative that we should showcase, let us know.
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