Brief Bio:
Jennifer Jean is a poet, educator, editor, activist, and consummate "literary citizen." She was born in Venice, California and lived in foster-care until she was seven. Her ancestors are from the Cape Verde Islands. Jennifer's debut poetry collection is The Fool (Big Table); her poetry chapbooks include: The Archivist and In the War. Her newest manuscript, titled Object, was a finalist for the 2016 Green Mountains Review Book Prize. Other honors include: a 2020 Peter Taylor Fellowship from the Kenyon Review Writers Workshop, a 2018 Disquiet FLAD Fellowship; a 2017 Her Story Is residency, where she worked with Iraqi women artists in Dubai; and, a 2013 Ambassador for Peace Award for her activism in the arts. Her poetry, prose, and co-translations have appeared in: POETRY Magazine, Waxwing Journal, Rattle Magazine, Crab Creek Review, Denver Quarterly, The Common, Solstice, Pangyrus, and more. Jennifer is an administrator at The Boston Book Festival, an editor at Talking Writing Magazine, the director of Free2Write Poetry Workshops for Trauma Survivors, and a teacher of writing at Boston-area universities.
Extended Bio:
Jennifer Jean was born in Venice, California, and lived in foster care until she was seven. She grew up in the San Fernando Valley (California) and earned her BA in creative writing from San Francisco State University and her MFA in poetry from Saint Mary’s College. Her debut poetry collection is The Fool (Big Table, 2013); her chapbooks include The Archivist (2011) and In the War (2010). She released Fishwife Tales (2011), a collaborative CD with composer Sarah Eide, which comprises art songs, rock ballads, and accompanied recitations. Jean’s poetry and prose have appeared in POETRY Magazine, Rattle,Waxwing, Pangyrus, Crab Creek, SWWIM, Caketrain, Denver Quarterly, Tidal Basin Review, The Common, Solstice Magazine, Rise Up Review, and elsewhere. Her poems have been anthologized in: Writers of the Portuguese Diaspora (2015), Veils, Halos & Shackles: International Poetry on the Oppression and Empowerment of Women (2016), and Inheriting the War: Poetry & Prose by Descendants of Vietnam Veterans and Refugees (2017). Her poetry manuscript Object, about objectification and human trafficking in the United States, was a finalist for the 2016 Green Mountains Review Book Prize and a semifinalist for the 2016 Akron Poetry Prize. She is the recipient of the 2016 Good Bones Poetry Prize.
Jean is the founder of Free2Write: Poetry Workshops for Trauma Survivors. She is also the Community Engagement Manager at The Boston Book Festival, the managing editor of Talking Writing Magazine , and a board member for Fort Point Theater Channel. Jean teaches writing at Mass College of Art, Grub Street Writing Center, and elsewhere. She lives in Massachusetts with her husband and children.
Website by Luc Jean : lcjean21@gmail.com
Jennifer Jean is a poet, educator, editor, activist, and consummate "literary citizen." She was born in Venice, California and lived in foster-care until she was seven. Her ancestors are from the Cape Verde Islands. Jennifer's debut poetry collection is The Fool (Big Table); her poetry chapbooks include: The Archivist and In the War. Her newest manuscript, titled Object, was a finalist for the 2016 Green Mountains Review Book Prize. Other honors include: a 2020 Peter Taylor Fellowship from the Kenyon Review Writers Workshop, a 2018 Disquiet FLAD Fellowship; a 2017 Her Story Is residency, where she worked with Iraqi women artists in Dubai; and, a 2013 Ambassador for Peace Award for her activism in the arts. Her poetry, prose, and co-translations have appeared in: POETRY Magazine, Waxwing Journal, Rattle Magazine, Crab Creek Review, Denver Quarterly, The Common, Solstice, Pangyrus, and more. Jennifer is an administrator at The Boston Book Festival, an editor at Talking Writing Magazine, the director of Free2Write Poetry Workshops for Trauma Survivors, and a teacher of writing at Boston-area universities.
Extended Bio:
Jennifer Jean was born in Venice, California, and lived in foster care until she was seven. She grew up in the San Fernando Valley (California) and earned her BA in creative writing from San Francisco State University and her MFA in poetry from Saint Mary’s College. Her debut poetry collection is The Fool (Big Table, 2013); her chapbooks include The Archivist (2011) and In the War (2010). She released Fishwife Tales (2011), a collaborative CD with composer Sarah Eide, which comprises art songs, rock ballads, and accompanied recitations. Jean’s poetry and prose have appeared in POETRY Magazine, Rattle,Waxwing, Pangyrus, Crab Creek, SWWIM, Caketrain, Denver Quarterly, Tidal Basin Review, The Common, Solstice Magazine, Rise Up Review, and elsewhere. Her poems have been anthologized in: Writers of the Portuguese Diaspora (2015), Veils, Halos & Shackles: International Poetry on the Oppression and Empowerment of Women (2016), and Inheriting the War: Poetry & Prose by Descendants of Vietnam Veterans and Refugees (2017). Her poetry manuscript Object, about objectification and human trafficking in the United States, was a finalist for the 2016 Green Mountains Review Book Prize and a semifinalist for the 2016 Akron Poetry Prize. She is the recipient of the 2016 Good Bones Poetry Prize.
Jean is the founder of Free2Write: Poetry Workshops for Trauma Survivors. She is also the Community Engagement Manager at The Boston Book Festival, the managing editor of Talking Writing Magazine , and a board member for Fort Point Theater Channel. Jean teaches writing at Mass College of Art, Grub Street Writing Center, and elsewhere. She lives in Massachusetts with her husband and children.
Website by Luc Jean : lcjean21@gmail.com
