Love Jones Changed My Life

How a movie ignited my passion to pursue poetry.

Photo courtesy of New Line Cinema.

I can’t believe the movie Love Jones was released 25 years ago.

I initially saw it for the first time in my mid-twenties. At the time, I was experiencing much stress in my life. I was searching for a full-time job after being hired in January 1997 at a local healthcare organization in Philadelphia, PA, and learning three weeks later that my department would be officially shut down on September 30th when the government decided to terminate its contract. I was living with and engaged to get married to my then-fiancé Paula on September 6th. In addition, I worked part-time as a retail salesperson at a men’s clothing store.

The year before I started writing poetry and had two poems published in The Philadelphia Tribune. I aspired to write mysteries after reading Walter Mosley’s Devil in a Blue Dress and meeting him at a book signing that summer, but my attitude towards doing so was lackadaisical. With all that was occurring in my life at that life, writing wasn’t a priority. The only two outlets I had for enjoyment were exercise and reading.

Paula and I made plans to see Love Jones on Sunday afternoon during its initial weekend release. She was excited to see the film, and although my interest was piqued after reading a review in The Philadelphia…