This episode wasn’t just about poetry.

It was about what happens when you commit to something you didn’t even want to do… and it becomes the work that defines you.

Because that’s what happened here.

And that matters more than people think.

What Was Discussed

Phoebe, also known as Blue Poetress, walked us through her journey into writing a heroic crown of sonnets—one of the most structured and demanding forms in poetry.

Not casually. Not halfway.

Fourteen sonnets, all connected.
Then a fifteenth built from those same lines.

And here’s the part that stuck—she didn’t even like sonnets when she started.

She said no to the class more than once.

But once she stepped into it, she didn’t treat it like an experiment. She treated it like something she needed to master.

And from there, the work deepened.

She pulled from:

• Biblical references
• Historical figures like Nefertiti
• Stories like Henrietta Lacks
• Her own lived experience as an educator

And what came out of that wasn’t just poetry.

It was a body of work centered on identity, history, and what it means to be a Black woman across time.

Your Perspective

This is the part I think a lot of authors overlook.

We like to talk about writing what we love.

But sometimes the work that grows you the most is the thing you resist.

And I’ve seen this—not just in writing, but across everything creative.

The thing you avoid usually requires more from you.

More discipline.
More attention.
More intention.

And because of that, it pulls something different out of you.

That’s what happened here.

She didn’t just write poems. She honored a form, respected the structure, and still found her voice inside of it.

That balance is not easy.

Real Takeaways

• You don’t have to start with passion—you can start with challenge
• Structure doesn’t limit you—it can actually sharpen your work
• Not every project is meant to be easy
• Some work carries weight beyond the page—and you feel it when it does

What To Do Next (Light)

If you’ve been avoiding a certain type of writing…
or a certain kind of project…

That might be the one worth looking at again.

Not because it’s easy.

But because it might require something you haven’t tapped into yet.

👉 Watch the episode: https://youtu.be/Kr_DqeaWrAQ

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