Meet Jill Carstens | Writer & Accidental Activist
We had the good fortune of connecting with Jill Carstens and we’ve shared our conversation below.
Hi Jill, we’d love to hear about how you approach risk and risk-taking.
I evolved into taking risks slowly as a young adult. I was shy as a child in public, but at home I was quite boisterous, leading my younger brother around, performing impromptu plays for our parents. People label each other as introverts or extroverts but I truly believe you can be a bit of both.
Taking risks as my life has progressed seems to have started out a bit ignorantly. When I was younger I might not have realized the ramifications a decision might make on my life. When I was 28 I moved, alone, from Denver, where I had lived my entire life, to Southern California. I had prescribed for myself what I then called a “significant interruption” to force myself to grow. I never really liked it there but that “risk,” I realized years later and through writing my memoir, was not a failure, it was part of my journey that taught me so much.
Most of the risks I now take are connected with a passion that drives me. I speak out more about injustices I observe. Recently I have attempted to rally citizens to voice their thoughts about the development and gentrification that has plagued Denver so intensely over the last decade. Much of our city is unrecognizable to long term residents. We have lost a lot of our physical history and it is heart breaking. This has not always been a popular stance, but, through speaking out I have found that many people feel similarly. I believe it is important for the average citizen to be heard by those who have the power to make changes in our city.
I write about this gentrification a bit in my recently published memoir, “Getting Over Vivian,” which was also, I recognize, a form of risk. Before it went to print, my publisher said, “Are you ready to stand on the corner naked for everyone to see?” Not really, but my need to put the story out there was stronger than my fear of embarrassment.
Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
I love visual art and have always engaged in it. I have engaged in many genres from painting, multi-media and more recently up-cycling furniture, selling pieces here and there. Creative acts are meditative for me and a form of stress release.
My real passion as a “creative” is the writing. Succeeding in getting my writing in front of an audience has happened just by taking the chance of reaching out to publications. I had a portfolio of writing already before I started with the North Star so I was able to provide them with samples. During the pandemic, a few folks reached out to me about writing their stories. I would then pitch them to different publications which is how I then grew my pool of places that I freelance for.
Being able to have the regular column in The Denver North Star newspaper has allowed me to explore the sharing of information in ways that I hope are beneficial to the common good. In my column, “Letters from Miss Jill,” I have written about topics ranging from how early to allow your child to have their first phone to gun control. I have branched out and began writing longer format feature stories in addition to my column and in a variety of publications. Through this vehicle I have learned and shared about Colorado water rights, ways to make recycling more affordable and accessible to rural towns and have had the pleasure of interviewing some very impactful people. I am proud of this work. I have learned that ALL of my writing influences all of my writing and I improve the more I write.
Writing is not always fun or easy. It can be lonely and rarely pays well. I impose high standards for myself and view well-written, responsible journalism as the priority. I write because I love it and a big part of me just needs to do it!
As far as “how I got where I am today,” it would go back to more strategic risk-taking combined with the willingness to go with the flow if an opportunity I was not expecting presented itself.
Writing a book was a lifelong dream that I set about seriously working on about 6 years ago after my son was older and I found myself with more time to work on it. It was a joy to write it. However, as many other writers might tell you, it is hard work. When you are working on final drafts (after many crappy drafts) you consider each and every word and it feels like it is never quite finished, but when a publisher became interested last year I did my best to polish it enough to call it “done.”
Basically, I have said YES to new things more and more as I have been able to in my life. Being a person who enjoys new experiences and trying new things as a life long learner, I think, fosters new opportunities. Part of that comes with what I would call just basic socializing, but others might call it “networking.” I value old relationships as much as newly fostered ones. I recently started attending open mic nights at the Denver Women’s Press Club. I was happy to see that people I was already acquainted with through the papers I write for were in attendance and overall have found a wonderfully supportive organization to share my writing with and hear others’ share their work too. It has made the experience of writing much less isolating for me! You can view some samples of my writing and learn more about my book here: https://www.jillcarstenswriter.com/
Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
At this point in my life I am vehemently an old school local. The places I care to go to have history and character. The character often comes from the other patrons who have created a sense of family within the walls of these places.
We have lost a lot of my cherished places in Denver where I would take someone to, many are mentioned in my book; Paris on the Platte was a beloved bookstore on Platte near 15th where I bought my first Walt Whitman and drank strong coffee. The Wazee Supper Club on 15th and Wazee and The Terminal Bar near there were after-shift spots for those of us that worked at the Wynkoop Brewing Company in its early days. City Spirit, also down there in lower downtown was a colorful, artful cafe that served vegetarian fare and fun martinis like the La-La. If I could, we would also go hear jazz at El Chapultepec…
So instead of going to those absent spots I might, instead, tour my friend around Capitol Hill to show them the Molly Brown House and many other historic homes in that area. We would shop at the very artful Tallulah Jones in uptown. We might stop in for a drink at Don’s Mixed Drinks off of east 6th avenue.
Places that are still around in lower downtown: I would show off the renovation of Union Station. I would happily take a friend to My Brother’s Bar (Denver’s oldest bar, with connections to the old Wazee Supper Club) and the Mercury Cafe where you can get a great meal and hear an impromptu poem on open mic nights.
Heading to the west side of town we would visit the Edgewater Inn. I went on dates there back in high school. It was recently purchased by a friend who is carrying on its over 70 years of history. When I stop by there I always see someone I know and they have great pizza.
I frequent West Side Books in my North Denver neighborhood and we would pop over there for some book browsing. We would begin heading further west and stop in Golden to visit the Windy Saddle for coffee on the way to a mountain bike ride on North Table mountain – I grew up with a view of that mountain outside our kitchen window. After our ride, my favorite brewery in Golden is Golden City Brewery, a small little spot off the beaten path where many School of Mines students and profs hang out at their outdoor beer garden. Outside of the city we would probably head up I-70 (NOT on a weekend) to show my friend the historic buffalo herd and the view of the Rockies on our way to Evergreen where we might stop by the lake and take out a row boat then head over to The Little Bear for some music!
Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
As I analyzed my life through the writing of my book, my mother came to mind quite a bit. She has always been a life-long learner, an artist and a citizen who views acts of service as critical to being part of her community.
When I was about 8 years old, she found an old 1800s wooden school desk that she painted a pretty pink. She placed it in my room as part of the decor. I write about this desk in my book. It was one of the places where I ruminated in solitude as a child and wrote in my first diary. I became a writer sitting at that desk so long ago. As I re-started my journalism career after leaving the teaching field, just about 5 years ago, I could always count on my mother to help me proofread my pieces, including the editing of my book. Additionally her seeking to “pay it forward” as a good citizen has greatly influenced my own efforts at “doing good” in my community.
Another important woman who has had great influence on me is the writer Sandra Cisneros. I stumbled upon her book “Woman Hollering Creek” in my late 20’s and every story resonated with me. Her style of writing influences me and over the years I have read each subsequent book she has written. “A House of My Own: Stories from My Life,” has many parallels to my own life. I felt like I knew her. She has also taught me to be brave with my writing and gave me the knowledge that even when we feel helpless, writing it down and sharing it with others can help.
Website: https://www.jillcarstenswriter.com/
Instagram: @lettersfrommissjill
Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jill-carstens-4777b06a/
Other: Press:
https://www.westword.com/arts/jill-carstens-looks-back-at-old-denver-in-new-memoir-20409525
https://www.westword.com/arts/the-brdg-project-looks-at-north-denver-history-in-roots-of-an-era-18839131
Image Credits
Head shot on chair: Gray Carstens
Cover on my book: Kyle Carstens
Some descriptions:
Rally at El Chapultepec with KUVO staff to support preservation
Myself walking down Wazee St. circa 1994
Myself sitting on one of Union Station’s original benches after renovation
Protest letter about Tennyson Street gentrification
My first diary
Nominate Someone: ShoutoutColorado is built on recommendations and shoutouts from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you or someone you know deserves recognition please let us know here.
