Spotlight On Writers
John Neff
- Where do you originate from?
I was born and raised in New York, in the city of Niagara Falls — a place full of contrast and contradiction. It was a great place to grow up, until it wasn’t. I left it behind in 2013, but it remains the city where I first learned how lies can take shape and how truth can be buried beneath noise.
- What do you cherish most about the place you call home?
What I cherish most about home is that it’s where I grew up — a place filled with a lot of good memories, and a lot of bad. What I cherish most about it, though, is the falls. It’s one of the Seven Natural Wonders of North America, and it’s amazing to look at. The sound of the water pouring over the edge has a way of stripping away the city’s noise. It’s soothing, and it’s always helped me reset my focus.
- What ignites your creativity?
My creativity is ignited by truth and emotion in a time where deceit has become more common than honesty. I’m driven by the things that can’t be easily explained — moments of frustration, loss, resistance, and renewal. Whether through a lens, a lyric, or a line of writing, I’m always trying to capture what’s real before it disappears. But I also like to have fun with my creativity — not everything I do is realism. Sometimes it’s about letting imagination take the lead and seeing where it goes.
- Do you have a favorite word and could you incorporate it into a poetic phrase?
My favorite word is discombobulated. It’s one of those words that sounds exactly like what it means — off balance, scattered, out of sync. In many ways, it captures how the world often feels today. But there’s something almost humorous about it too — like acknowledging the chaos is the first step to making sense of it.
Discombobulated — like a mind awake in a world asleep, still trying to piece together what everyone else pretends not to see.
- What is your pet peeve?
My biggest pet peeve is people who speak without thinking — those who repeat what they’ve heard instead of learning what’s true. We live in a time where opinions spread faster than facts, and that disconnect drives me crazy. I’ve always believed that words should carry weight, not just sound. Words have the power to build or destroy, to heal or divide, and too many people treat them like background noise. Maybe it’s the journalist in me, but I think you should earn your voice by understanding the truth behind it. If you don’t, all you’re doing is echoing someone else’s confusion — and the world already has enough of that.
- How would you describe the essence of John Neff?
The essence of me — hmm, now that’s a good one. I guess I’m a blend of reflection and resistance, with a touch of fire and ice. My creativity is spontaneous and can keep me awake for days, which can be as frustrating as it is rewarding. I’ve learned to find beauty in broken places and meaning in what others overlook. My art — in any form — is how I make sense of chaos, how I translate emotion into presence. Permanence is a factor in everything I create — I’m trying to feel everything fully and leave something honest behind.
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