Meet Jesse James Ziegler

We were lucky to catch up with Jesse James Ziegler recently and have shared our conversation below.

Jesse James, we’re thrilled to have you on our platform and we think there is so much folks can learn from you and your story. Something that matters deeply to us is living a life and leading a career filled with purpose and so let’s start by chatting about how you found your purpose.

Finding My Purpose by Jesse James Ziegler

According to Matt Seybold of the Center for Mark Twain Studies…
“There is perhaps no greater testament to Twain’s lasting reputation than the habitual misattribution of miscellaneous wit and wisdom to his name.”
Matt presents the position that perhaps the greatest example of such sentiments of The Apocryphal Twain (as he groups such aphorisms) is one of my favorite quotes of all time…
“The two most important days of your life are the day you were born and the day you find out why.”

Matt does not go on to give more than suggestions and examples of where the quote could have originated, so I will continue to give Samuel Langhorne Clemens attribution until proven otherwise.
I was born two weeks late on August 4, 1976. Had I been born two weeks early instead I would’ve been born on the bicentennial. I suppose that’s why I’ve always been trying to make up for lost time and why I tend to arrive early to events. The day I figured out why (although I had my suspicions across my entire life without conclusive evidence besides a serious hobby) was November 8, 2016.
On that evening while my wife and birds slept in the other room, the politics and current events of the country pushed me into an instinctive response. I turned to the written word in the form of poetry for the umpteenth time. I immersed myself in verse as I had countless times before. It was then I realized why I was born. Poetry. I had always been one, but on that fateful night I gave myself permission to own my identity.
A coming out if you will, from the waste paper basket. Pulling out all of the rough drafts of my life from the garbage. Opening up the crinkled wadded up bundles of my experiences, smoothing out the wrinkles enough to make them legible again, and adding revision as well as the longevity of perspective before further presentation to the world.
I am a poet. Poetry is written into my DNA and hardwired into my brain. It is etched upon my heart and it is the building blocks of my soul. I get to share what I must. Creativity is prayer and this is the way I most often choose to pray. It is my purpose. It is the meaning and the magic I derive from the mundane. It is the way I dance with the universe. It is the way I tend to my own being and care for others. It is the way I beat back the ceaseless wind, my attempt to calm the storm and the best way I know how to acknowledge both despair and joy. Loss and beauty. Death and life. Grief and love. Desperation and peace. Call and answer.
These are my answers to the test.
(Better Late Than Never)

Appreciate the insights and wisdom. Before we dig deeper and ask you about the skills that matter and more, maybe you can tell our readers about yourself?

I am currently serving my city in the honorary position and my tenure runs from January 2024 through December 2025. I am the Creative Director of Monday Night Poetry, a weekly poetry centered open mic with occasional spotlight feature poets coming through on tour. Every Monday night I’m reminded of the single greatest experience we have as human beings: being a part of something that is larger than ourselves. I am also the Creative Director of True Colors Poetry, a poetry group which meets two Wednesdays a month (1st and 3rd) at our local all ages LGBTQIA+ community center. In addition I run a monthly poetry book club called Collective Breath. All three of these entities are free to attend. Materials and prompts are provided. They are all facets of my platform to provide community service and community building while making great art easily accessible to all. I intend to continue these passion projects beyond my tenure as poet laureate while building an even stronger portfolio towards the State of Nevada Poet Laureate position.

If you had to pick three qualities that are most important to develop, which three would you say matter most?

The only way to get better at something is to do it. A lot. So I have maintained the discipline of READING voraciously and WRITING constantly. An inspiration of mine said it best when I heard him speak at the Nevada Museum of Art within the Biggest Little City in the World.

“ Write all the time,
and
read more than you write.
I see writing and reading
as a conversation.
As a writer,
if you’re only doing one,
you’re only getting half
of a conversation
which is never the full story.
If you’re only reading
it’s as if you’re only
listening to others in
conversation while never
taking part in it.
If you’re only writing
it’s as if you’re talking
to yourself in the mirror
all of the time.
You must be doing both
all of the time
in order to get better.
Doing something a lot
is the only way you get
better at something.
Inspiration is great
when it comes,
but discipline
is always there.
So you must always
be disciplined
on the way to inspiration.”

— Dr. Javon Johnson

The third aspect of my growth as an artist has always been diving in to EXPERIENTIAL KNOWLEDGE . This has been achieved by domestic and international travel, attending and running workshops, special event hosting, interviewing people of interest, listening to podcasts, watching documentaries, and working at an extremely wide array of day jobs as my main source of income across my entire life thus far.

Alright so to wrap up, who deserves credit for helping you overcome challenges or build some of the essential skills you’ve needed?

My dear friend and brother from another mother Iain Watson. He’s the founder of Spoken Views Collective (2006) the oldest continuously running poetry organization in the state of Nevada dedicated to the enhancement and enrichment of page and performance poetry. He’s also the co-founder of Monday Night Poetry(along with me) since January 3rd of 2022.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.linktr.ee/sidewayseight
• Instagram: @sidewayseightprojects @mondaynightpoetrynv @truecolorspoetry
• Facebook: Jesse James Ziegler
• Other: All pertinent links are accessible through my website.

Image Credits

Head Shot (1st picture uploaded)

@melodyjanephoto