✨ The Making of Chyrel J. Jackson’s Spotlight

A behind‑the‑scenes look inside the Quintessential Poetry editorial room

Every Spotlight begins long before the post goes live. It starts with understanding—the poet’s voice, their lineage, their imagery, and the emotional terrain they inhabit. With Chyrel J. Jackson, the process unfolded with a sense of clarity and grounded resonance. Her work carries a deep connection to memory, womanhood, Blackness, and the quiet power of lived experience. The editorial team's approach needed to honor that truth.

Receiving the Poet’s Materials

When Chyrel’s submission reached us, the editorial team read through her philosophy, her roles, her images, and her reflections with the attention they deserved. Her statement, “Poetry is a great gift… as necessary as air,” immediately set the tone. It told us that her Spotlight needed to breathe. It needed to feel grounded, intentional, and spiritually resonant.

Understanding Her Voice

Chyrel revels in her Blackness—not quietly, not cautiously, but with clarity, pride, and rootedness. That truth shaped everything that followed. Her Spotlight could not be neutral or generic. It needed to honor:

• her lineage

• her lived experience

• her identity as a Black woman writer

• her belief in language as a healing force

This understanding became the compass for the entire editorial process.

Shaping the Narrative Arc

Every Spotlight follows a narrative structure we’ve refined over time. For Chyrel, the arc emerged naturally:

• Origin: Poetry as breath, healing, and spiritual grounding

• Identity: Poet, author, truth‑teller, legacy‑bearer

• Practice: Writing toward wholeness and liberation

• Offering: Her forthcoming collection, Unsung Canaan Ballads: A Poetry Collection 

This arc became the backbone of her full blog feature—the story that would carry her voice into the community.

Writing the Facebook Feature

The featured post on Facebook drew from Chyrel’s philosophy and identity, weaving them into a narrative that honored her Black womanhood, her lineage, and her devotion to truth. It turned into her Spotlight's permanent record, a place where her voice could endure outside of the 24-hour social media cycle.

Creating the Reel Script

The reel needed to be short, powerful, and Instagram‑ready. We shaped it to echo the rhythm of previous Spotlights while centering Chyrel’s voice and her upcoming book. The script transformed into a condensed representation of Chyrel's essence, embodying a fleeting moment of clarity.

Bringing the Spotlight to Life

This Making Of entry exists to honor the process behind the presentation. Every Spotlight is a collaboration, a ritual, and a celebration of the poet’s unique contribution to the world of language and meaning. Chyrel J. Jackson’s Spotlight stands as a testament to the power of story, memory, and the enduring strength of the poetic voice.