Metaphorical Truths

Like Alice in Wonderland we live in a world where the golden key to the garden is always just out of reach. Can we learn from Scheherazade in One Thousand and One Nights and save ourselves with stories? In The Golden Key to the Garden , poet Jacqueline Jules shares personal discoveries gleaned from classic literature.    Very excited to announce the April 2026 release of  THE GOLDEN KEY TO THE GARDEN.  This chapbook of 22 poems is available from  Bottlecap Press. Sample Poems from THE GOLDEN KEY TO THE GARDEN: $10.00 Available from Bottlecap Press

Jacqueline Jules was a featured reader at the Storyteller Poetry Review Love Story Series, Part 6 on February 23, 2025.  With Elaine Sorrentino and Jim Lewis, Jacqueline read poems previously published in Storyteller Poetry Review . Jacqueline is introduced by Jim Lewis and is the first reader on the video. The video can be viewed at this link.   

Jacqueline's poem, "Dear Son," published March 26, 2024 was nominated by Sparks of Calliope in its 2025 Best of the Net Nominations  Best of the Net Sparks of Calliope  nominated six poems for inclusion in the 2025  Best of the Net  Anthology, sponsored by Sundress Publications. Eligible poems appeared between July 1, 2023, and June 30, 2024, and were previously unpublished. Best of the Net 2025 Nominees “Flowers” by Gary Borck “Along the Shoulder” by Terence Culleton “Dear Son” by Jacqueline Jules “Honeymoon” by James Mulhern “The Metaphor of Work” by Ali Rowland “Anticipation” by Beate Sigriddaughter

  “I am impressed with the elegance in which she embraces her tragedies and her eloquent creative ways of writing about her grief.   I am proud to publish these powerful heartbreaking poems from her book dedicated to her son, Itzhak Perlman’s Broken String.   Read full post here  

"Manna in the Morning  is a collection to cherish and to gift. Jules’s poems are readable and profound. As Jules ponders Leviticus 20:26 in “You Shall Be Holy,” she writes, “‘Shall’ to be understood / as a command, not suggestion” (52). These poems are Shalls. They proclaim our connection to what has come before, rooting us in tradition, while simultaneously gathering up possibility and meaning for us to exult in, commanding us to flourish outward. They are the saplings that are planted for a future harvest, but they are also the harvest." Read full review by Alexandra Umlas  here. 

  Lowestoft Chronicle’s 2021 Pushcart Prize Nominations December 4, 2021 We are very appreciative of the great writers who have graced our pages over the years. In 2010, we published a couple of works by Hugh Bernard Fox Jr., one of the founders of the  Pushcart Prize , who sadly passed away in 2011. Hugh was an admirer of  Lowestoft Chronicle  and a prolific literary writer of quality poetry and prose, with a remarkable catalog of publications to his name. One of the finest pieces we have published in recent years was the poignant story, “Mr. O’Brien’s Last Soliloquy,” by Robert Garner McBrearty, whose excellent stories have been anthologized in the Pushcart Prize. This story remains among the editor’s all-time favorites. This November, we made the following nominations for the Pushcart Prize: Best of the Small Presses series, published every year since 1976. Pushcart Prize nominations: “The Journey to Autumn” by (Essay) Sharon Frame Gay “Espèce de Cowboy,” (St...

Many thanks to Naomi Thiers for her review of Manna in the Morning at Yellow Arrow Publishing. "I think it’s fair to say the Old Testament itself is a character in Jacqueline Jules’ recent poetry collection Manna in the Morning. Bible stories and personages, including those lesser known, are the central element in so many poems that the Old Testament becomes a presence as we read—not oppressively, but in a way that probes freshly what’s going on with those old tales and weird, flawed characters.  This includes female characters beyond the usual Eve and Esther: Dinah*, Miriam*, Jochebed* and more (just for fun, throughout this review I’ve marked lesser-known female Biblical characters Jules write about with a * and there’s a key at the end!). Even poems that don’t focus on Old Testament stories or characters swirl around the author’s spirituality as a Jewish woman. They bring into Jules’ thinking about her life in the 21st-century metaphors or life lessons from people and situatio...

Consider Moses who never reached his destination. His journey was his legacy. The story of Ruth, who famously said, “your people will be my people,” centers on two grief-stricken women supporting each other through hard times. Rachel was buried by the side of the road to offer a loving prayer to all who pass by. Jonathan was a rare soul, content to be remembered as a loyal friend instead of a powerful king. The poems of Manna in the Morning examine biblical figures through the lens of modern times, extracting insights from the lives of people portrayed as more complex than their worst moment or their best. Katherine E. Young, author of Day of the Border Guards, Poet Laureate Emerita, Arlington, VA offered advance praise for Manna in the Morning, saying. “Jules explores contemporary faith with nuance and sensitivity, braiding together the ancient world and twenty-first century. She’s particularly interested in the roles women play in the Biblical texts and brings a lively feminist sensi...

Book Q&As with Deborah Kalb: Q&A with Jacqueline Jules :   Jacqueline Jules is the author of the new poetry collection Manna in the Morning . She has written many other books fo...

    Manna in the Morning is, quite simply, a lovely book. As she revisits holy texts, Jacqueline Jules gracefully connects ancient stories with modern times, gaining insights into her own quandaries and gently suggesting paths through which all of us may traverse our conflicts and crises. Go ahead and feast on the spiritual sustenance that Manna in the Morning provides. You won’t regret it. —Erika Dreifus, author of Birthright: Poems and Quiet Americans: Stories Jules explores contemporary faith with nuance and sensitivity, braiding together the ancient world and twenty-first century. She’s particularly interested in the roles women play in the Biblical texts and brings a lively feminist sensibility to her poems: “I’m Miriam/holding a tambourine,/dancing in the desert, grateful/for the smallest excuse/to sing.” —Katherine E. Young, author of Day of the Border Guards, Poet Laureate Emerita, Arlington, Va.   MANNA IN THE MORNING by Jacqueline Jules Kelsay Books, 2021 Av...

My poetry chapbook, Itzhak Perlman's Broken String , the winner of the 2016 Helen Kay Chapbook Award by Evening Street Press is now available on Kindle.  

Photo by Diego PH from unsplash.com What is a metaphor? It is a cornerstone of poetry. Metaphors provide a tangible image for ideas and emotions. And metaphors can be found everywhere, in everything seen, heard, or experienced. Like all poets, I write to discover my soul and reach emotional truths.   I love the puzzle of words. Arranging them, rearranging them, until the words make the picture I want. Poetry helps me visualize my emotions with concrete imagery. For example my poem, “ "Missing Tokens” comments on the discontinuation of traditional Monopoly pieces. I complain that I didn’t vote “to blackball beloved tokens.” Yet I continue to roll the dice and keep playing “till I’m all out of paper money.”    In recalling a trip to Bermuda and the way houses are constructed to withstand hurricanes, I am reminded “how even in paradise one must be prepared to weather storms.” On this blog, you will find news of my most recent publications. Thank you for st...