Writer Showcase: Jeannie Prinsen's Best Work
A new interview series, volume 2.
Welcome back to a new installment of Writer Showcase, a weekly interview column where writers share a sample of their online portfolio. My guest today, Jeannie, writes at
here on Substack.What do you write about?
My tagline is “Family, faith, laughter, writing, reading… all that good stuff.”
Why did you choose this theme/topic?
My husband and I are parents of two autistic young adults who live at home, so family life is pretty central to my thoughts and priorities. I also love to write and read (I publish a “books I read this year” post every December) – and faith is a significant part of my life. Also I laugh a lot; the sillier the pun or GIF or meme, the better! So those are the things that tend to bubble to the surface when I’m pondering what to write about.
How long have you been writing on Substack?
I started a blog on another platform around 2007, but I’ve only been on Substack for two years. On Substack I feel more like I’m part of a community, whereas blogging can be pretty solitary.
What other bylines have you had in the past?
I’ve had a number of poems, a couple of short stories, and some guest posts published; a list of my publications can be found in my “My writing” post.
Please share a few links to your favorite pieces of work, and tell us a little about each one.
My most-viewed post of all time (because a popular blogger shared it!) is also one of my favourites: “Making the road safer: the power of words.” It was prompted by a sermon I heard about the Good Samaritan, and it is about the importance of using our voice.
This more recent piece, “Redeeming the time: trusting in the ‘slow work’ in the bittersweet times of life,” was meaningful for me too. In it I wrote more openly than ever before about a broken relationship in my life. For a long time – and this is pretty ironic considering I just said my most-read essay was about using my voice! – I thought maybe I shouldn’t write about this publicly, that the “higher road” would be to keep silent. But I no longer believe that’s necessarily true. We all have stories to tell, and sometimes doing that involves sharing with a wider audience.
Much of my poetry is set in Prince Edward Island, where I was born and grew up. This poem, “Coyotes,” was published in Barren Magazine. And I see now that it also refers to using your voice!
I do occasional book reviews; here at Christian Courier I reviewed poet Maggie Smith’s memoir, “You Could Make This Place Beautiful.”
I have also had one piece published in The Babylon Bee. This was back when it was fairly mild, self-deprecating satire and not the right-wing trash it tends to be now. I’m not exactly proud of the association, but I do like the article I wrote there – though interestingly enough, my name no longer appears at the online link, so there’s no indication that I wrote it! But I did. “Woman Admits She Envies Those Who Don’t Have It All Together.”
Who is one other Substack writer you admire?
, who writes Musings From a Broken Heart, is one of my favourite writers on Substack. He’s such a good example of just doing your thing and letting others in on it. One of his posts from the last year is “I do not dream of labor.” The dreams he does have, which he shares with us in this essay, are beautiful, joyful, and restful.I’m so grateful to Jeannie for taking the time to share her work with us! As always, I recommend subscribing to her Substack. You can also follow her on Bluesky.
One of my own favorites of Jeannie’s pieces is titled “We will make it right.” I appreciate Jeannie as a writer, as a friend, and as a striver to make things right.
Jeannie, I commented on that most-viewed-post from 2016! Great hearing your insights here today, too. You’re aces in my book.
Cheers,
Tim