The Birmingham Area Consortium for Higher Education hosted a poet event on Sept. 9 in Harry’s Coffee house with Janine Joseph.
Joseph, originally born in the Philippines, childhood actor-turned-poet spoke to students about her story and the troubles she overcame.
Before sharing poems from her first poem collection, “Driving Without a License,” Joseph went into detail about her automobile accident, which was a pivotal point in her life.
Joseph experienced multiple injuries, including a brain injury that caused her to lose her senses and her memory for some time. She shared that she feels memories are just a story.
That experience, along with the recovery process, sparked inspiration for her collection. A poem from the collection titled “Wrecked” told the narrative of a voice on the outside telling Joseph to awaken herself, often using the phrase “come to.”
Joseph described an injury called coup-contrecoup, which is similar to whiplash, while setting the scene for her wreck.
During her recovery, she researched multiple brain injuries and treatments for patients, including football players and soldiers.
Joseph shared feelings of envy toward those who experienced a brain injury and suddenly acquired an intelligent skill. She shared that she struggled with coming to who she was without her memories, finding her passions and joy again.
The poems Joseph shared with the students served as a narration of her life. The last poem she shared was titled “Nationalization.” She established this poem as the hardest one to write, because it involved seeing herself through her father’s eyes.
The poem described what the process of being a documented citizen was like. Joseph received her documentation when she was in school after her accident.
She shared how her father had to help, because she could not remember enough to fill out the documents. Hearing how her dad described her inspired her writing.
Jospeh also shared some tips that helped her through writer’s block. One of her solutions was to ask a friend for a random word. Joseph encouraged students to “play trickery with yourself,” and to not write entirely in solitude.
Staff Writer
