Each week we will be connecting with our contributors showing where they have been, where they are now, and what’s up for the future.
Name: Jen Karetnick
Title of Pieces Published in Sweet: “It’s about the dog, but not really about the dog“
Issues: 11.2
Find Her:
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This past November, I moved from my home of nearly 20 years, a mango grove in Miami Shores, to another house in a bird sanctuary called El Portal. It’s only two miles away, but having traded mangoes for peacocks that wander the streets in flocks, it feels a world apart.
You can find out more about her on her website.
What are some major accomplishments you have had since your Sweet publication?
In 2019, I was a finalist for several poetry and manuscript prizes: The 2019 Patricia Cleary Miller Award for Poetry from New Letters; 2019 Brett Elizabeth Jenkins Poetry Contest from Tinderbox Poetry Journal; 2019 Construction Literary Magazine Poetry Contest; 2019 Jacar Press Full-Length Manuscript Competition; 2019 Gold Wake Press Open Reading Period. Both manuscripts were picked up and are forthcoming–one this August from David Robert Books, called the Burning Where Breath Used to Be and one in 2023 from Salmon Poetry, called Hunger Until It’s Pain.
I also recently learned that I won the 2020 Tiferet Writing Contest for Poetry. The poem that won is a villanelle called “Birkat HaBayit: A Woman Is a Bird When.”
Can you tell us about a current/ongoing project that you’re excited about?
I’m currently a Deering Estate Artist-in-Residence for playwriting. I’m writing a play for middle school-age children set in the endangered ecosystems of South Florida.
Who is your favorite author?
Whoever I’m currently reading at the time. I read all the time, which makes this question even harder to answer.
What is your favorite poem/essay/book?
See above!
What inspires you to write?
The natural world, science and medicine, social issues.
What are you reading right now?
A variety of journals–the Cincinnati Review is open on my desk right now–and a novel, Call Me Zebra.
What is your favorite sweet? We would love for you to share a recipe or link to place that serves it. Pictures are great, too!
I’m addicted to Gummi Bears. I’m unsuccessfully trying to cut down.
But they are fat and gluten free, so that makes them healthy, right?
Thank you, Jen, for taking the time to reconnect with us. We look forward to seeing more of your work in the future!
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