Unlocking Potential #18: Q&A With Dr. Janet M. Stutz

This is the next entry in Unlocking Potential, where I ask a few questions that are less “interview” and more “permission slip.” Janet Stutz has spent years in education and leadership, and her poetry carries the kind of calm clarity that makes you want to try again…smarter this time.

Q: After a career in education leadership, what did poetry teach you that leadership didn’t—and what did leadership teach you that poetry didn’t?

Poetry taught me how to retreat and take a breath from the long days and pressure of politics in my position. Even now retired, I can create and feel refreshed after busy days by finding beauty in poetic words. Leadership taught me how to serve wholeheartedly, how to listen to others, how to bring forth a vision that was in the best interest of children even when it may not have been the popular warm fuzzy message.

Q: What’s one small practice that helped you keep going through hard seasons that a reader could borrow tomorrow?

Reflect upon your day and keep a journal or notes that will assist you later to write. I also found inspiration by reflecting near a lake, ocean, or someplace peaceful. I listen to calming music when I write.

Q: What “permission slip” would you hand to someone who thinks they’re too late to write (or to start over)?

Each day there is the opportunity to try something new, reword, rewrite, edit, or begin. I started writing poetry when I was 16. I learned to play guitar when I was 35. I learned how to write an ekphrastic poem when I was 61. Just begin.

Q: Beverage check (personal curiosity: I own Garth’s Brew Bar on Monroe Street): what’s your go-to drink when you’re celebrating a good day—or surviving a weird one?

A glass of Cabernet

Q: How can people find you?

StutzPoeticVisions.com

Stay Positive & Wholeheartedly Serve