species
poems
by jessica L. Conley
Art: Glacier Lily by Tah Madsen
A marvel: every time you open this book of poems, music pours out….
— Karen Donovan, author of Monad+Monadnock
…Conley’s poems incorporate all the tensions, complexities, and discoveries of a self in relation to a changing world, aware of an ominous future yet finding hope and solace that “there is already so much music.”
— Michele Poulos, author of Black Laurel
…Through these titles and musical ambiance, [Conley] uses my music as a score for her own inner creative and imaginative landscape, giving the tunes new meaning.
— Stephane Wrembel, award-winning jazz guitarist and composer
…Here is a poet who knows how poetry “enters the body,” as well as “how to write silence” and its counterpoint, creating a procession of discoveries in a poetry of precision, elegance, and vision.
–Gregory Donovan, Blackbird Founding Editor and author of Torn from the Sun
About jessica
Jessica L. Conley (she/her) teaches at The Steward School and Reynolds Community College in Richmond, Virginia. She holds a BA in English, and MA in Secondary English Education, and an MFA in Poetry from Virginia Commonwealth University. She is a Pushcart Prize nominated poet who has been published in literary magazines such as Glassworks Magazine, Common Ground Review, and 2River.
Photo by John R. Conley