Finding the Funny in the Fracture: Interview with Johannah S.
- Jhazzy Jhane
- May 13
- 4 min read
Some writers begin with a clear origin story, but poet Johannah doesn’t. What is clear is a voice shaped by humor, observation, and a deep interest in the messiness of relationships.
With a notebook always nearby, she captures fleeting, often funny moments and turns them into work grounded in clarity and connection. Whether writing about love, friendship, or the absurdities of everyday life, her poems invite readers to see themselves in the chaos—and maybe laugh a little too.
Q: What initially got you interested in writing?
A: Wow—this is actually a tough question for me to answer. I have a sordid origin story. If y’all are in Chicago, buy me a beer and we can talk about all things “why I started writing.”
Q: What kinds of images, memories, or sensations tend to linger long enough to become poems for you?
A: I carry a small notebook with me everywhere and I’ll jot down things in my mundane daily life that make me laugh. Sometimes it is the odd pairing of things or concepts or a thought I’ll have about “what if this happened or were true?” Most of my writing starts from something that makes me laugh, even when I am the butt of the joke. I am programmed to find the humor in a moment, even the most terrible moments.
Q: When you’re drafting, do you prioritize clarity or mystery, or does that balance
shift depending on the piece?
A: I’m a clarity person. I have this deep desire to connect with folks and to have the validation of a shared experience. For that to happen, I need my readers to relate to my work. I want them to be like “I get it—I feel that way too.” Even where there is an oddly-specific-to-me moment, I try to find ways to connect to the universality of the situation. We have all loved. We have all felt desire. We have all felt shame.
Q: Are there particular themes or questions that you find yourself returning to in your work?
A: Most of my writing is about messy relationships, be it romantic, friendships, parenting, work-related. Shining a light on the ridiculousness of it all, that’s where I draw a lot of energy in my writing. I wonder if it is because I tend to define myself by these relationships? I wonder who I am in the absence of all of these people in my life. I hope I don’t have to figure that out.
Q: What’s one piece that you’ve written that still sticks with you? Why that piece?
A: I have a piece in A Sufferer’s Digest called “Boundaries.” This piece is where I found my voice—frantic, unhinged, and achingly authentic. It’s a very messy piece in a style I affectionately call a “ramble-logue” and continues to be one of my favorite pieces to read aloud. Writing that bit of creative non-fiction (CNF) opened a huge door for me. Prior to that piece, I was writing flash fiction and tiny meet-cutes. Today, I’d say 80%+ of my writing falls into the CNF/hybrid prose poem bucket and I have Boundaries to thank for that. Read it here:
Q: How do you handle moments when writing feels inaccessible? What brings you back to the page?
A: When I don’t write, I get sullen and sulky. It’s like the emotional equivalent of being hangry. When I don’t have the spark, I go into old work and work on revising. I always have the energy to revise old work that hasn’t landed anywhere yet. Another thing that inspires me is completely random submission calls. I screenshot 100s of opportunities I see on social media, newsletters, and that I find on ChillSubs. I’ll sit at my computer and read these random-to-me calls and see if anything shakes an idea loose. I’ve had a lot of luck letting serendipity feed my muse.
Q: What has writing taught you about yourself that you don’t think you could have
learned any other way?
A: Writing has taught me that I don’t need to be just one thing. Identity is complex. For years, I over-indexed on being professional, appropriate, and sweet—even when I didn’t feel like that inside. Through my writing, I’ve been able to express things that I wouldn’t be able to in the constraints of my daily life. Writing has taught me that I have things to say and that it is ok to be surly, inappropriate and snarky. I don’t have to fit into others’ rigid expectations when I write. I write for myself.
Q: Why are art and its history important?
A: …how much room do we have to respond to this one? Seriously.
At the heart of this work is a commitment to honesty. Humor becomes a way through, and writing becomes a space where nothing has to be neatly resolved.
In the end, the question of why art matters lingers, reminding us that poetry isn’t about perfect answers—it’s about making meaning, and finding connection, in the middle of it all.
Keep up with Johannah: author website: www.thewritingtype.com
Link to poems: Poetry by Johannah Simon - Anti-Heroin Chic
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