Immediately evident upon meeting Jill Niebuhr, it’s clear that the light of joy and hope shining from her eyes is what defines her.
As a lifelong music-maker, dancer, pianist, and creative her friends and followers have collaboratively given her the stage name, Jammin.
“These days,” she said, “I’m sometimes amazed by the message of hope I have to offer. Anything is possible! I have overcome things people repeatedly told me I couldn’t!”
This week, in October of 2018, the 20th anniversary of an assault that deeply impacted her life, Niebuhr is publicly declaring that the past no longer define her!
“I’m sometimes amazed by the message of hope I have to offer. Anything is possible!”
Creative Outlets
Niebuhr has been writing poetry since her early teens. Later, poetry became a primary focus for expressing herself and for coping with difficult issues.
2016 saw her first book published, Crush: A Collection of Poetry. “I wanted to take people on the journey with me,” she said. “I named the book Crush to express my desire to learn what love is after I was raped. A chapter in the book depicts my experiences with that.”
Music has also been close to Niebuhr’s heart all her life. Under her stage name, Jammin, the Warrior, she has recently completed and released her sophomore album. A concert, to mark the release, is scheduled on December 8th at the Arts Center of St. Peter.
Niebuhr is passionate about creating a positive, vibrant community. She recently started a new Meetup group called The Saint Peter Music Lovers. “I’m thrilled to bring together music lovers and create a community around creativity,” she said. “We are planning our second meet up at Vagabond Village. It will be a jam session with musicians and music lovers joining together. There is so much potential for this group to thrive!”
Additionally, this past spring, she wrote a script for a documentary, Sacred Journey to the Heart: Love, Faith and Friendship, being directed by friend David Clobes. “We are hoping to go into filming Summer 2019,” she said.
Victory!
And while she is clearly moving on there’s no question part of that process is calmly looking back to see how far she’s come. Niebuhr strives to offer inspiration and strength to people going through difficult times.
“I will talk about what helped me through my difficult time, how I was able to use a terrible situation for good, and how to overcome adversity and strife and be who you are meant to be”
Which leads us to her poetry reading on October 20th.
“I will talk about what helped me through my difficult time, how I was able to use a terrible situation for good, and how to overcome adversity and strife and be who you are meant to be,” she shared. “I’m going to read from Crush and also a couple selections from my original journals from 20 years ago. I love making people feel good when they come to see me live!”
Here’s a sample from Niebuhr’s book, Crush.
Eager
A Villanelle
He cannot approach the puzzle fast enough
Where she walks in a sullen state from a regretted room
And he steps to the point where their eyes can Meet
The past fades away to the present time and days
Where he kisses her cheek and holds her hand.
He could not approach the puzzle fast enough.
She cuts for the feel. She skips her meal.
His dream at night is her to-be-wife.
He’s ready to step to the point where their eyes can meet.
He’s going to get down on one knee.
It’s what he wants. Not sure what he sees,
And he cannot approach the puzzle fast enough.
The meet again or else it is loneliness.
She is clouded by thoughts that undress happiness
But he steps to the point where their eyes can meet.
All he wants is all she doesn’t
He never asks but stays eager for lovin’
He cannot approach the puzzle fast enough
And he steps to the point where their eyes can meet.
You Are Invited!
You are invited to share in Niebuhr’s celebration of victory as she reads from her poetry at the Blue Earth County Library from 2-4 pm on Saturday, October 20th. Tickets are available at EventBrite.com.
Niebuhr’s book, Crush, is available on her BandCamp site and will also be available for purchase at the reading on October 20th.
