Hadley Jones is the author of the poetry collection, Devout, now available for pre-order. We interviewed them so you can get to know them a little more!
How long did it take you to write Devout? What was your process for pulling it together?
It took about 3 years after I released my previous collection, My Therapist Heard It First. Religion and faith played a much different role in my writing prior to that. I wrote my way through deconstruction. The first 21 years of my life had been fully dedicated to Christianity, so when I stepped away, I lost almost everything. Writing was how I made sense of my past. Devout is closure, like a goodbye letter to that time in my life. It’s mourning the person I was and reaching for the person I will become. These are the poems that came out of the ashes of burning my old life down.
What’s a favorite poem from the collection? Why?
Every poem is so important to me, but the Altars They Built and Prayer of the Damned were some of the most cathartic to write. They were born from a place of anger, an emotion that is often shamed in those contexts—private religious universities and Evangelical megachurches, respectively. It’s freeing and empowering to be able to say the words I held back, especially when performing them live. They’re perpetually relevant to a painful degree.
What’s your writing routine look like?
I write when the words are hot and wherever is most accessible in the moment. Most of the time, that’s the notes app on my phone, but in dire situations like when I worked retail, I would write on blank receipt paper. Most poems stay first drafts, but some stick with me and make it to the editing process. I edit until the poem evokes the feeling that inspired its existence. I want readers and listeners to feel the words in a near visceral way.
Who are your favorite poets?
Blythe Baird and Andrea Gibson have made me feel seen in a way few poets have. Sarah Kay and Clementine von Radics both have a special place in my heart as the poets I read when I first started writing.
What are you reading right now?
I’m currently reading #ChurchToo by Emily Joy Allison (non-fiction), which is an excellent book detailing how purity culture fosters abuse in religious institutions. I just picked up A Psalm for the Wild-built, a sci-fi novel by Becky Chambers, and the poetry collection Postcolonial Love Poem by Natalie Diaz, which, one poem in, is absolutely stunning.
What’s your favorite non-writing activity?
I love watching and talking about animated television shows and movies. It’s one of the most fascinating forms of art to me. Every little step is so intricate and intentional; there’s so much that can be done in animation that live action cannot replicate. Aside from that, I love having chill hangouts with my friends, going to bookstores or coffee shops or just watching movies together at home.
