About Brooke
Also known by their pen name, B. Nantz, Brooke is the author of two poetry collections, with more written work always coming! For those eager for more, further poetry, essays, and literary criticism are updated in real-time right here!
If you are ever looking for me, I’m likely at home, at a local coffee roastery, or somewhere outside! Nothing makes my soul happy quite like a crossword or library book and a cup of joe! You might also find me creating an everyday collage, jotting down poetry-in-progress, or at my local Anglican church!
More from Me
An Extended Author’s Note
Some important aspects of my life are also the chronic illnesses and dynamic disability I live with! That probably seems complicated, and it is!
In my first poetry collection, Maybe I’ll Bloom, many of the poems reference the rich outdoor life Colorado provides, which is what drew me here from the East Coast. I grew up tucked between the beach, mountains, farmland, city, and lake in North Carolina and adored it.
My hope from the start of each of my books has been to offer delicate shards of honesty that would allow readers to find a hook on which to hang their coat; a page that felt so close, they could tuck their heart into it. I pray you find this in my work. Thank you for being part of this world and my story. xoxo
B.
Before being diagnosed with these illnesses in 2024, I lived in a swirl of symptoms I thought were normal. Now, I live in a swirl of symptoms I know are not normal but have a name for! I have multiple rare genetic diseases including Mast-Cell Activation Syndrome (MCAS), Hypermobile Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome (hEDS), Dysautonomia (aka POTS), and as a result of those, Gastroparesis, Intestinal Dysmotility, Myalgic Encephalomyelitis (ME/CFS). What a mouthful! Unfortunately, this means I have spent the last year in and out of hospitals. And, this means my days often look far more humble than I’d hoped at 25 years old. You’ll see I often post about my experience with these on social media to educate others and raise awareness! You will also find many references to this in both of my books!
I loved to (and still love to) participate in all recreational sports such as hiking, rock climbing, skiing, volleyball at the park, trail running, etc. I still adore these activities but am learning to use my “spoons” sparingly to protect myself from major chronic illness flare-ups. You’ll still find me wandering the state of Colorado and others camping, working on botanical illustrations, and enjoying bodies of water (bonus points for glacial melt, because…COLD).
Later, I moved to Virginia for my undergraduate education, where I studied Strategic Communications and International Studies. Mid-way through my degree, after realizing my jealousy toward my friends studying Social Work and Counseling, I began planning to pursue my Master’s in Clinical Mental Health Counseling. Now, I am in the very program I dreamt of in Colorado! I am charting an entirely new exploration into the mind and its deepest workings! My adventures are delicately tucked between the pages of countless Psychology textbooks.
While I deeply miss the more rugged exploration of the outdoors, I am doing my best to embrace rest and mental stimulation, which is part of what put the pieces in motion for me to publish my first two books this year. I’ve been collecting poetry in journals, on reciepts, and in Google Docs for as long as I can remember. I have always been waiting for the “right” time to complile them in a form to share. When everything I loved—the outdoors, my ability to study, time in-person with friends, and family, and my health altogether— was ravished from my grasp in 2024, I had to fight for the hope to go on. The very wrestling I experienced, I desperately attempted to put into words. Many of these words became the scaffolding which Maybe I’ll Bloom and Grasping at Honesty were formed.
Contact me
Interested in working together? Want to be friends? Fill out some info and I will be in touch shortly. I can’t wait to hear from you!