By Jessie Kuenzel
Staff Writer

A Sacramento, CA native, Janae Johnson arrived in Boston excited about her new job at Simmons, but unfamiliar with the city’s social scene. Now an experienced and highly regarded spoken-word poet, Janae first began performing slam poetry as a means to meet new people in the area.

When asked what she’s drawn to for inspiration, Janae said she has often found she gravitates towards political events, although this past summer she began looking at the people around her to inspire her.

Filled with passion and relevant to current events, Janae’s work draws from her own experiences. It is important, she says, to write about what is “relevant to now”; to find and address the common experiences among herself and others.

Now a member of the Lizard Lounge’s slam team—a club located between Harvard and Porter Square in Cambridge—and the advisor for Simmons Speaks, Simmons’ poetry organization, Janae now regularly shares her considerable gift for spoken word with audiences and Simmons students alike, proving that she gives as much to the community outside of her position as assistant athletic director as she does through it.