V. Walker is a poet, indie author, and indie interactive fiction developer based in the United States. Her first published book was The Fragile Humans We Are, released in February of 2025.
She’s currently working on her second poetry collection and running Substack publications around poetry, collaborative writing, and indie publishing. She also creates interactive fiction games, which are available on itch.io.
When she’s not writing or reading, she enjoys traveling and playing RPG games. You can find her primarily on Threads.
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Let’s talk about your poetry collection, The Fragile Humans We Are. How did you decide upon the poems that would go into it, and the order of the poems in the collection?
So, all of these poems were written in the last ten years, with a handful of them having been written while I was in college. I knew back then that I wanted to publish a poetry collection, but I didn’t have the confidence to do that. And so, I actually made the decision to create The Fragile Humans We Are back in 2020 during the pandemic.
The themes center around the human experience, particularly, during the beginning of the pandemic, I realized just how fragile humans are. But I also discovered how resilient we are. I wanted the book to focus on a journey that includes grief, loss,and pain – but also friendship, love, and kindness.
When deciding on the poems, I first created the four sections in the book: coming of age lessons on love, when the lights start to dim, stumbling through the darkness, and feeling the sun on my skin again.
I think used a spreadsheet and identified what I thought were the best poems for each theme. So the order of the poems is essentially a journey that begins with learning about how cruel the world can be, then moves on to the fragility of a person, the darkness we can fall into, and then the resilience and love that we can experience.
Your work often focuses on the resilience of the human spirit, particularly in the face of love and loss, with related themes spinning from these central ideas. What motivates you to write about these things, and why choose poetry as your medium to explore them?
It’s easy to get caught up in your problems and pain. But I eventually healed enough to realize that there are billions of people in this world and while every story is unique, there are themes that resonate with many people, millions, or even billions of people.
So, I love focusing on the human experience and our resilience because I want people to know that they aren’t alone. Even when they are stumbling through the darkness, there is a light. It may not be easy to reach. But if you keep going, you will find it. I truly believe that. (The last part about why poetry is answered two questions below, as I felt there was some overlap in my answer!)
What forms of poetry have you experimented with? Do you think you have found your ‘style’ or is that constantly evolving?
I haven’t done a ton of experimentation, to be honest. I hate writing haiku – I love to read them but it’s just not my thing. I’ve tried Villanelle and I was okay with the work I created but it wasn’t my favorite.
I generally just write whatever feels good. Sometimes there’s rhyme, sometimes there’s not and I do a lot of free verse. I do want to try my hand at a sonnet and some other styles but I just haven’t gotten there yet.
Do you think there is something innate about the medium of poetry that enables you to express your ideas – if so, can you explain a bit about this and what poetry means to you?
Poetry has always spoken to me because it is the genre, in my humble opinion, that is most open for interpretation.
No two people are going to read a poem and have the same experience, but there will be overlap. So, it’s a medium that is relatable to a broad audience but niche enough to an individual’s experience.
For me, poetry is a window to pieces of someone’s soul.
How have readers responded to your work and can you share a few of your favourite comments/reviews that you’ve received?
Since I’ve begun sharing my work on Substack, I’ve seen such a positive response from the incredible community there. A few of my favorite comments and reviews:
“This is such a somber and slightly heart-wrenching piece, but it’s also deeply relatable.”
“This hits so hard for me, but it’s so gorgeous and I don’t know how to explain it, but it feels like the first ray of sunshine peeking through the clouds after it has rained for weeks.”
“i cannot encapsulate how grateful i am to experience such incredible artistry and talent in my lifetime. what a phenomenally vulnerable, raw, and haunting piece. i truly have no words.”
I never thought I would hear words like this so it really brings tears to my eyes and fills my heart with gratitude.
What can people look out for from you – anything coming soon? If they sign up for your poetry newsletter, what can they expect?
I’m currently working on my second poetry book which I will release this year, hopefully this summer.
It’s called “What I Know of Love I Learned From Grief.” It’s significantly larger than my debut “The Fragile Humans We Are: Volume One”.
This WIP is about all the different ways that people grieve – not just death. Grieving who you were, the life you could have had, the person you loved, the time in your life you can’t get back, and so much more.
With this next book, I’m not just telling my story and my experiences, but drawing on the life around me, both real and fictional, to highlight the ways that loss intersects with love.
I have two newsletters – one is my Substack and with that, you get new poems from me, reviews of poetry books I’ve read, and some musings. You can expect posts weekly. With my regular newsletter from my website, I send a maximum of 1 to 2 emails a month. This newsletter is really designed for people who want the occasional new poem in their inbox, along with announcements, discounts, and giveaways.
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