A Look At The Life Of Poet, Janette…ikz

Something I’ve recently questioned is, what does it mean to be a creative? The oxford dictionary definition is; ‘a person whose job involves creative work’. This led me to question, what defines creative work? Creative work stems from involving ‘the use of the imagination or original ideas to produce something’.

God’s creative work created us in His own image, and I believe this refers to a few ideas but one I’d like to draw on is that, as God is the Creator, because we are part of His lineage, we are all naturally creatives. Looking to God first and then yourself for purposeful living is the blueprint.

A modern day woman whose life agenda is Christ centred, and is using what God has given her to live with purpose is Janette…ikz.

Janette Watson aka Janette…ikz is a spoken word poet, dancer, musician and speaker, with a passion to use all of the gifts God has given her to glorify God. Janette’s wordsmith journey started at an early age and was inspired by her mother. Although from a musical household, her mother’s poetic journals were the muse that stirred up a passion for writing in a similar way.

Image Credit: Humanxsheep

Introduced to the gospel as a child, Janette…ikz started by sharing her poetry at church which was short lived. She shared on her childhood experiences which included sexual abuse and hence was asked not to share that type of poetry at church anymore; she then moved in to more secular environment where she was rejected again, but this time, for representing Christ. She “took the discouragement and channeled that as energy to do better and, eventually the snaps came” – (Janette.ikz, Channels Television interview, 2016).

Praise isn’t always what encourages growth, the rejection she faced fuelled her to write some of the most powerful and well-known pieces, namely The Truth Without Photoshop, I Will Wait For You and I Waited For You.

These pieces were showcased as a part of P4CM (Passion For Christ Movement) which is a collective of individuals who passionately believe and express their love for Christ through events and online content. From this, an energetic sub-group of poets formed PIA (Poets In Autumn) and primarily consists of Janette…ikz, Ezekiel Azonwu, Jackie Hill-Perry and Preston Perry.

These artists are passionate about using their gifts to share the Gospel. And isn’t it amazing that God has given each and every one of us unique gifts and he tasks us all to steward and multiply them! For Janette…ikz that primarily includes poetry.

I wonder what your unique creativity is? It’s always important to remember that our creativity isn’t determined by how people do or do not appreciate it. Purpose starts with God, in Christ so He can get His best out of you, whatever that looks like.

You can see Janette..ikz and the other incredible PIA poets with some special guests on Saturday 5^th May 2018 at City Gates Church. Tickets can be purchased here.