"The Fragile Humans We Are: Poetry, Healing, and Empathic Journalism
🎙️ Host: Brian Nuckols
🎙️ Guest: V Walker, poet and author of The Fragile Humans We Are
Episode Summary
In this episode of Hesitation Media Podcast, host Brian Nuckols speaks with poet V about their newly released poetry collection, The Fragile Humans We Are. The conversation explores themes of emotional resilience, healing through writing, the power of poetry to evoke empathy, and the digital landscape for modern poets.
V’s work captures the fragility and strength of the human experience, navigating grief, childhood trauma, and the journey toward healing and connection. The discussion also touches on mental health, poetry as a vehicle for transformation, and the challenge of finding an audience as an indie writer.
This episode is part of Hesitation Media’s mission to explore empathic journalism, using slow journalism to deeply engage with thinkers, artists, and cultural voices. V is the latest voice in a season-long discussion with leading thinkers on the American right, as well as creatives reshaping contemporary literature.
Key Topics Discussed
The Emotional Core of Poetry: How poetry captures deep human truths, even when facts are mythologized.
Healing Through Writing: V shares their personal journey and how poetry became a tool for processing trauma and finding resilience.
Empathy and Accessibility in Poetry: The importance of making poetry understandable and emotionally engaging for readers.
Building a Creative Community: The power of platforms like Substack and Threads in helping indie poets connect with their audience.
Mental Health and Writing: How therapy and self-reflection shape V’s work and their evolving poetic voice.
Dark Humor and Gallows Wit: The surprising role of irony and humor in processing difficult emotions.
Art, Healing, and Mythic Themes: The unconscious influence of mythology in V’s work and the archetypal cycles in their poetry.
Advice for Aspiring Poets: Practical tips for overcoming imposter syndrome, building an audience, and getting work out into the world.
Action Items for Listeners
✅ Support V’s Work: Check out The Fragile Humans We Are and leave a review on Amazon, Goodreads, or Substack to help indie poets reach new readers.
✅ Join the Community: Subscribe to V’s Substack and engage with a growing poetry community.
✅ Discover and Read Indie Poets: Start reading poetry!
✅ Write Your Own Poetry: Inspired by V’s journey? Start writing and sharing your own experiences. She said she would message you about it!
Guest Links
🔗 V’s Poetry Collection: The Fragile Humans We Are – https://ko-fi.com/vwalkerauthor/shop
🔗 V’s Substack:
🔗 V on Threads: https://www.threads.net/@oxvictoriaxo
Empathic Journalism – A storytelling approach that prioritizes deep listening, emotional understanding, and rejecting premature judgment. It moves beyond objectivity to embrace subjective truths and lived experiences.
Slow Journalism – A deliberate, thoughtful approach to reporting that prioritizes depth and nuance over speed, seeking to provide a fuller, more complex understanding of stories rather than reacting to news cycles.
Romantic Poetry – A literary movement (late 18th – early 19th century) that emphasizes emotion, nature, individual experience, and the imagination. Romantic poets like William Blake, Lord Byron, Percy Bysshe Shelley, and John Keats saw poetry as a means of spiritual awakening, rebellion, and personal expression—themes echoed in V’s work.
Indie Author – A self-published writer or one who works with independent presses, building their audience through platforms like Substack, Threads, and social media. Indie authors often retain creative control but face challenges in visibility and distribution.
Substack – A newsletter-based platform where writers can publish and monetize their work, building direct relationships with readers. Many independent poets and journalists use Substack to share their writing outside traditional publishing structures.
Dream Incubation – An ancient practice where people sought divine or psychological guidance through dreams, often by sleeping in sacred spaces like temples. V’s poetry explores dreamlike imagery, making dream incubation a metaphor for poetic inspiration.
Gallows Humor – A form of dark, ironic humor used to cope with tragedy, pain, or existential despair. It allows people to acknowledge suffering while maintaining wit and emotional distance. V’s work incorporates humor as a tool for resilience.
Healing Through Art – The idea that creative expression helps process trauma, cultivate self-awareness, and foster emotional resilience. Poetry, like other art forms, can be a way to reconstruct meaning after loss or struggle.
Ekphrasis – A literary technique where poetry describes or responds to a visual work of art. Romantic poets frequently used ekphrastic poetry to reflect on beauty, transience, and the sublime.
The Lyric “I” – The poetic voice in first-person poetry, often seen as an intimate, confessional reflection of the poet’s emotions. V’s poetry aligns with the Romantic and confessional traditions that center deeply personal experiences.
Poetry as Spellcasting – The idea that poetry, through incantation, rhythm, and imagery, has a ritualistic, transformative power—a concept found in Romanticism, surrealism, and magical realism.
Muses in Poetry – In Greek mythology, the Nine Muses were divine figures of inspiration, guiding poets, musicians, and artists. In poetry, the muse is often seen as a source of creative power, whether in the form of a person, memory, emotion, or subconscious force. Romantic poets expanded this idea, treating nature, love, or dreams as muses. In modern poetry, the muse is often internalized, representing the personal and psychological forces that drive artistic creation.
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