“But light isn’t the surest way home. / We’ve grown accustomed to the ease of it, as if ease was the point / of living, grown idle in our new skins, forgetting our nocturnal ways. / Every now and then in a dream, I remember what it felt like to see / in the dark beyond what the light reveals, to see how perfect we all are / in the absence of its confidant gaze”

Jamaica (she/her/hers) hails from Santa Cruz, CA by way of Seattle. Her work has appeared, or is forthcoming, in Prairie Schooner, World Literature Today, The Adroit Journal, The Missouri Review, and TriQuarterly, among others. She is a 2021 National Endowment for the Arts Fellow, was the winner of the 2019 San Miguel de Allende Writers Conference Contest in Poetry, and was a runner up for the 2020 Tupelo Press Berkshire Prize. Her writing has been supported by Hedgebrook, Furious Flower, and the Jack Straw Writers program. Jamaica is currently pursuing her PhD in English at the University of Nebraska–Lincoln with a focus on creative writing, African Diaspora Literature, and Women and Gender Studies.

POETRY

FORTHCOMING

"As the nurse fills out the intake form, the ocean speaks your name," Ruminate

PUBLISHED

"Father Weaver," Rhino, 2021

"Breast/less," rhino, 2021

"Naturally," The Massachusetts Review, Spring 2021

"Forbidden," The Missouri review, Fall 2020

"Inheritance," The missouri review, Fall 2020

Girl Walks to the Beach," The Missouri review, Fall 2020

"Once at an Art Party in Chelsea," The Missouri Review, Fall 2020

"Unravel," Glass Journal, Special elections feature, Nov. 3 2020

"Windfall," World Literature Today, Sept. 2020

"Home," Guernica, July 2020

“Back in the Day,” The Adroit Journal, Spring 2020

“What Remains,” December Magazine, Spring 2020

“Haibun for My Brother,” December Magazine, Spring 2020

“A Brief and Sordid History of the Speculum,” The inspired poet by Susan Landgraf, 2020

“Cell Revolt,” The Inspired Poet by Susan Landgraf, 2020

“Portrait of a Woman with Wings in Oil,” TriQuarterly, Issue 156, Summer/Fall 2019

“Teaching the Beasts to Devour My Mother,” San Miguel de Allende Writer’s Contest Winner, 2019

“1981,” Birdfeast #14, 2018.

“Stitched,” Prairie Schooner, Summer vol. 92, 2018

Symphonies,” Prairie Schooner, Summer Vol. 92, 2018

“Contortionist,” City Arts Magazine – Seattle, Feb. 27, 2018

“All That Splendor," Third Coast Magazine, Issue 44, Winter 2018

“L and I,” Third Coast Magazine, Issue 44, Winter 2018

“Far from Grace,” Hayden’s Ferry Review, Issue 61, Fall/Winter 2017.

“Hunger,” Spiral Orb Thirteen, 2017

“re-Branding,” Limited Edition Broadside, Chatwin Books, 2017

"Jack Straw Anthology" Enough Mountain,” “Year in Review,” & “Survival Tactics,” 2017

“Father/less,” Seattle Review of Books, March 7th 2017

“Vigilant,” Seattle Review of Books, March 14th 2017

“Discarded,” Seattle Review of Books, March 21st 2017

“Land Mine,” Seattle Review of Books, March 28th 2017

“Call Me By My Name,” Rattle - Poets Respond, February 2nd 2017

EDITOR CREDITS

Co-Editor, “Opting Out: Early, New and Collected Poems (2000-2015)”, by Maged Zaher. Chatwin Books Seattle, WA.

Co-Editor, “Open Late: New and Collected Poems (1979-2018)”, by Rex Wilder. Chatwin Books, Seattle, WA.

EVENTS

Previous events

RHINO 2021 Virtual Launch Reading and Celebration

Friday, April 30 @ 7:00PMFri, Apr 30 @ 7:00PM

Virtual reading via Zoom. Register here.

This is a reading featuring contributors to the 2021 RHINO issue, including the annual prize winners. Come celebrate with us.

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Every Time I Talk About... Black Voices in a Time of Change: Poetry, Art, and Music

Tuesday, April 20 @ 7:30PMTue, Apr 20 @ 7:30PM

Lied Center Broadcast

"Drawing on the poetry of the late poet Lucille Clifton, UNL Poets will celebrate the long history of Black poets bringing often uneasy truths to the heart of America.

Conceived, curated and directed by Kwame Dawes, the poets, in conversation with music and visual art, will perform their own compositions and selections of poems by Lucille Clifton whose words continue to resonate in our culture today.

This is a free virtual event, but registration is required in order to receive the link to watch. There is also the option to add a donation to support the Lied Center. The live webcast will also be available on the Lied Center Facebook page."

Registration is free. Donations accepted.

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