Jacqueline Jules
About the Poet
Born on November 22, 1956 in Petersburg, Virginia, Jacqueline graduated from the University of Pittsburgh in 1979 with a B.A. in Creative Writing and in 2001 from the University of Maryland with a Master of Library Science. She worked as a librarian in both public and private school settings. Jacqueline is best known as an award-winning author of fifty children’s books, including the Zapato Power series and the Sofia Martinez series. Her work for children includes a poetry collection published by Albert Whitman in 2020, Tag Your Dreams: Poems of Play & Persistence and a verse novel, My Name is Hamburger, published by Kar-Ben in 2022. Her work for adults includes three poetry chapbooks, Field Trip to the Museum (Finishing Line Press, 2014), Stronger Than Cleopatra (ELJ Publications, 2014), and Itzhak Perlman’s Broken String, winner of the 2016 Helen Kay Chapbook Prize from Evening Street Press. Jacqueline’s full length collection, Manna in the Morning was published by Kelsay Books in 2021. Of this collection, Alexandra Umlas at Cultural Daily said Manna in the Morning is a collection to cherish and to gift. Jules’s poems are readable and profound."
Jacqueline’s poetry has appeared in over 120 publications including Beltway Poetry Quarterly, Calyx, Cape Rock, Chiron Review, Christian Science Monitor, Cider Press Review, Connecticut River Review, Future Cycle, Gargoyle, Hospital Drive, Inkwell, Imitation Fruit, The Innisfree Poetry Journal, Little Patuxent Review, Lullwater Review, Poetica, Potomac Review, The Main Street Rag, Minimus, and The Sow’s Ear Poetry Review. Her poem, “My Happy Place” was nominated for a Pushcart Prize in 2021 by Lowestoft Chronicle. She was a winner of the Arlington Arts Moving Words contest in 1999 and 2007. In 2008, she won Best Original Poetry for "Bungee-Jumping" from the Catholic Press Association. In 2014, her poem, “To Be a Gold Droplet Floating” was the first place winner of The Spirit First Poetry Contest.
Jacqueline has taught writing through the Arlington County Pick-A-Poet program, at the Writer’s Center in Bethesda, and through visiting author presentations at numerous schools. She taught creative writing as the Exemplary Project Coordinator at Nottingham Elementary School in Arlington, Virginia from 2009 to 2013. After returning to her home state in 1995, she lived in Arlington, Virginia until 2021 before relocating to Port Washington, NY, where she currently resides.
Region
Northern
Virginia City or County Affiliation
Arlington, VA and Petersburg, VA
Years of Residence in Virginia
Petersburg, Virginia 1956-1973, Arlington, Virginia 1995-2021
Current City/State of Residence
Port Washington, New York
Gender
Female
Race/Ethnicity
White
Year of Birth
1956
Keywords/Tags
poetry, spirituality, grief, children’s literature
Website
Published Works or Performances
- Field Trip to the Museum. Finishing Line Press, 2014.
- Stronger Than Cleopatra. ELJ Publications, 2014.
- Itzhak Perlman’s Broken String. Evening Street Press, 2017.
- Tag Your Dreams: Poems of Play & Persistence. Albert Whitman, 2020.
- Manna in the Morning. Kelsay Books, 2021.
- My Name is Hamburger. Kar-Ben, 2022.
Selected Individual Poems or Performances
- Three poems from Manna in the Morning at Cultural Daily, December 17, 2021.
- Four poems from Stronger Than Cleopatra in Beltway Poetry Quarterly Volume 16:2, Spring 2015.
- A Hand Not My Own, Prime Number Magazine, April 1, 2021.
- Radioactivity and The Wholeness of a Broken Heart in ONE ART, January 4, 2021.
- Four poems by Jacqueline Jules, Bourgeon, March 26, 2021.
Author Photo
Jacqueline Jules