Musical idents - Italian music found on archive.org)

I was told by a friend of mine, Ed, from the US that his niece, Jenna, is an avid poet. Never one to miss an opportunity to discover poetic talent I asked Ed if Jenna would mind showing me some of her work with a view to presenting it here on Podcast Poetry Live, if it was quality poetry of course. Jenna duly obliged.

After reading the first poem - Pocket Change - I realised I had to bring Jenna into the fold. You'll hear Pocket Change in a moment, and I can tell you it's short, sharp and powerful. Reading it the first time left me excited about the rest of her work. So I dived in and got lost in it. Jenna has a unique and wonderful way of expressing pain and pleasure in verse, and it paints pictures – some you want to look away from and others you want to fix your gaze on.

Before reading you the poems I selected for publication here's her bio that she has on her website

Jenna - Amongst many roles, I treasure the ones of poet, writer, and traveler the most.

Many people will also know me from being a (former) coffee shop owner, then a tour director and Italian travel specialist, roles which I adore as well.

As a kid, I fell in love with language and travel as a means of connecting our humanity. On my first trip to Italy as a teenager, some part of my heart stayed there. As an adult now, I’m in Italy as often as I can be, with as little paperwork as I have to have, and I currently hold B2 proficiency in Italian, which just means I can order pasta while concurrently complaining about politics. (Not sure there’s anything more Italian though...)

I love helping people travel to Italy well, sustainably, and all while supporting local businesses. My niche expertise and passion is food and wine, so you’ll see a focus on the culinary marvels of Italy, which is — gloriously — endless.

When I’m not in Italy, I’m either in South Dakota to visit loved ones or off traveling somewhere new, drinking coffee and writing about the things that make us human… and doing the things that make me human. (i.e. making fresh pasta. I make a lot of fresh pasta.) -

I intend to ask Jenna to consider reading her poems for us. That, I believe, would give us a whole new dimension to the poems’ content. Straight from Jenna’s heart.

In the meantime I’ll present her poetry with the love and appreciation that I feel for it.