A Little Bio:
Jennifer Jean’s poetry collections include VOZ, Object Lesson, and The Fool. Her resource book is Object Lesson: a Guide to Writing Poetry. Along with Iraqi poet Dr. Hanaa Ahmad Jabr, she's co-written and co-translated a correspondence in Arabic and English poems, titled Where Do You Live? أين تعيشين؟. As well, she’s the editor of the forthcoming anthology Other Paths for Shahrazad: a Bilingual Anthology of Poetry by Arab Women (Tupelo Press, 2026). Her work appears in POETRY Magazine, Rattle Magazine, On the Seawall, The Common, the Los Angeles Review, on The Slowdown Podcast, and in the Academy of American Poets “Poem-a-Day” series. She’s received honors from the Kenyon Review Writers Workshop, the Mass Cultural Council, and the Women’s Federation for World Peace. Jennifer is an organizer for the Her Story Is collective, a faculty member at the Solstice MFA, and a senior program manager at the Fine Arts Work Center.
A Big Bio:
Jennifer Jean was born in Venice, California and lived in foster-care until she was seven. Her ancestors are from the Cape Verde Islands. Jennifer's poetry collections include VOZ, Object Lesson, and The Fool. Her teaching resource book is Object Lesson: a Guide to Writing Poetry. Along with Iraqi poet Dr. Hanaa Ahmad Jabr, she's co-written and co-translated Where Do You Live? أين تعيشين؟ - a Correspondence in Arabic and English Poems. As well, she is the editor of Other Paths for Shahrazad: a Bilingual Anthology of Poetry by Arab Women, which is forthcoming from Tupelo Press in 2026. Her poems, prose, and co-translations have appeared in POETRY Magazine, Rattle, The Common, On the Seawall, Terrain, Salamander, the Los Angeles Review, as an Academy of American Poets "Poem-a-Day," and on The Slowdown podcast. She's been awarded fellowships from the Kenyon Review Writers Workshop, Disquiet/Dzanc Books, the Massachusetts Cultural Council, and the Kolkata International Poetry Festival; as well, she received the Jean Pedrick Award from the NEPC, and an Ambassador for Peace Award from the Women's Federation for World Peace. Jennifer curates and hosts the Wilder Words reading series, is an organizer for the Her Story Is collective, teaches in the Solstice MFA program, and is the senior program manager of 24PearlStreet, the Fine Arts Work Center's online writing program.
A Bigger Bio:
Jennifer Jean is a poet, translator, editor, educator, and consummate "literary citizen." Her ancestors are from the Cape Verde Islands. She was born in Venice, California and lived in foster-care until she was seven. She grew up in California's San Fernando Valley, 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 was The Fool (Big Table, 2013); her chapbooks include VOZ (Lily books 2023); Object Lesson (Lily Books 2021), The Archivist (2011), and In the War (2010). Jennifer is also the author of the teaching resource book Object Lesson: a Guide to Writing Poetry (Lily Books 2021). Jennifer is the co-author and co-translator of Where Do You Live? أين تعيشين؟ (Arrowsmith, 2025) and the editor of Other Paths for Shahrazad: a Bilingual Anthology of Poetry by Arab Women (Tupelo Press, 2025). She has been awarded a Peter Taylor Fellowship from the Kenyon Review Writers Workshop, a Disquiet FLAD Fellowship from Dzanc Books, and, an Ambassador for Peace Award from the Women's Federation for World Peace. As well, she's released Fishwife Tales (2011), a collaborative CD with composer Sarah DeValliere, which comprises art songs, rock ballads, and accompanied recitations. Her poetry and prose have appeared most recently in Poetry Magazine, Rattle Magazine, The Common, On the Seawall, Crab Creek Review, Terrain, Salamander, DMQ Review, SWWIM, River Mouth Review, Southampton Review, Denver Quarterly, Caketrain, Tidal Basin Review, Rise Up Review, Southern California Review, Pangyrus, Solstice Magazine, Green Mountains Review, and elsewhere. Her poem “Inspiration Point” was published as a 2022 Poem-a-Day by the Academy of American Poets and her poem "The Pacific" was published on The Slowdown podcast. Her work has been anthologized in: Writers of the Portuguese Diaspora (2015); Veils, Halos, & Shackles: International Poetry on the Oppression & Empowerment of Women (2016); and, Inheriting the War: Poetry & Prose by Descendants of Vietnam Veterans & Refuges (2017). Her poetry manuscript OBJECT, which explores 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.
Jennifer is the founder of Free2Write: Poetry Workshops for Trauma Survivors, and has been the poetry editor for Talking Writing Magazine and MER, as well as the translations editor for Consequence Forum. and a board member at Fort Point Theater Channel. She's taught creative writing at Mass College of Art, Salem State University, Grub Street Writing Center, Hudson Valley Writers Center, and elsewhere. Jennifer is the program manager of 24PearlStreet, the Fine Arts Work Center's online writing program; and, she lives in Massachusetts with her husband and children.
Jennifer Jean’s poetry collections include VOZ, Object Lesson, and The Fool. Her resource book is Object Lesson: a Guide to Writing Poetry. Along with Iraqi poet Dr. Hanaa Ahmad Jabr, she's co-written and co-translated a correspondence in Arabic and English poems, titled Where Do You Live? أين تعيشين؟. As well, she’s the editor of the forthcoming anthology Other Paths for Shahrazad: a Bilingual Anthology of Poetry by Arab Women (Tupelo Press, 2026). Her work appears in POETRY Magazine, Rattle Magazine, On the Seawall, The Common, the Los Angeles Review, on The Slowdown Podcast, and in the Academy of American Poets “Poem-a-Day” series. She’s received honors from the Kenyon Review Writers Workshop, the Mass Cultural Council, and the Women’s Federation for World Peace. Jennifer is an organizer for the Her Story Is collective, a faculty member at the Solstice MFA, and a senior program manager at the Fine Arts Work Center.
A Big Bio:
Jennifer Jean was born in Venice, California and lived in foster-care until she was seven. Her ancestors are from the Cape Verde Islands. Jennifer's poetry collections include VOZ, Object Lesson, and The Fool. Her teaching resource book is Object Lesson: a Guide to Writing Poetry. Along with Iraqi poet Dr. Hanaa Ahmad Jabr, she's co-written and co-translated Where Do You Live? أين تعيشين؟ - a Correspondence in Arabic and English Poems. As well, she is the editor of Other Paths for Shahrazad: a Bilingual Anthology of Poetry by Arab Women, which is forthcoming from Tupelo Press in 2026. Her poems, prose, and co-translations have appeared in POETRY Magazine, Rattle, The Common, On the Seawall, Terrain, Salamander, the Los Angeles Review, as an Academy of American Poets "Poem-a-Day," and on The Slowdown podcast. She's been awarded fellowships from the Kenyon Review Writers Workshop, Disquiet/Dzanc Books, the Massachusetts Cultural Council, and the Kolkata International Poetry Festival; as well, she received the Jean Pedrick Award from the NEPC, and an Ambassador for Peace Award from the Women's Federation for World Peace. Jennifer curates and hosts the Wilder Words reading series, is an organizer for the Her Story Is collective, teaches in the Solstice MFA program, and is the senior program manager of 24PearlStreet, the Fine Arts Work Center's online writing program.
A Bigger Bio:
Jennifer Jean is a poet, translator, editor, educator, and consummate "literary citizen." Her ancestors are from the Cape Verde Islands. She was born in Venice, California and lived in foster-care until she was seven. She grew up in California's San Fernando Valley, 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 was The Fool (Big Table, 2013); her chapbooks include VOZ (Lily books 2023); Object Lesson (Lily Books 2021), The Archivist (2011), and In the War (2010). Jennifer is also the author of the teaching resource book Object Lesson: a Guide to Writing Poetry (Lily Books 2021). Jennifer is the co-author and co-translator of Where Do You Live? أين تعيشين؟ (Arrowsmith, 2025) and the editor of Other Paths for Shahrazad: a Bilingual Anthology of Poetry by Arab Women (Tupelo Press, 2025). She has been awarded a Peter Taylor Fellowship from the Kenyon Review Writers Workshop, a Disquiet FLAD Fellowship from Dzanc Books, and, an Ambassador for Peace Award from the Women's Federation for World Peace. As well, she's released Fishwife Tales (2011), a collaborative CD with composer Sarah DeValliere, which comprises art songs, rock ballads, and accompanied recitations. Her poetry and prose have appeared most recently in Poetry Magazine, Rattle Magazine, The Common, On the Seawall, Crab Creek Review, Terrain, Salamander, DMQ Review, SWWIM, River Mouth Review, Southampton Review, Denver Quarterly, Caketrain, Tidal Basin Review, Rise Up Review, Southern California Review, Pangyrus, Solstice Magazine, Green Mountains Review, and elsewhere. Her poem “Inspiration Point” was published as a 2022 Poem-a-Day by the Academy of American Poets and her poem "The Pacific" was published on The Slowdown podcast. Her work has been anthologized in: Writers of the Portuguese Diaspora (2015); Veils, Halos, & Shackles: International Poetry on the Oppression & Empowerment of Women (2016); and, Inheriting the War: Poetry & Prose by Descendants of Vietnam Veterans & Refuges (2017). Her poetry manuscript OBJECT, which explores 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.
Jennifer is the founder of Free2Write: Poetry Workshops for Trauma Survivors, and has been the poetry editor for Talking Writing Magazine and MER, as well as the translations editor for Consequence Forum. and a board member at Fort Point Theater Channel. She's taught creative writing at Mass College of Art, Salem State University, Grub Street Writing Center, Hudson Valley Writers Center, and elsewhere. Jennifer is the program manager of 24PearlStreet, the Fine Arts Work Center's online writing program; and, she lives in Massachusetts with her husband and children.