Jada Renée Allen

Southern Indiana Review spring 2025 Thirty-three Contributors Salute, Day 2: Jada Renée Allen

Jada Renée Allen is a writer, educator, and culture worker from South Side Chicago.

www.jadarenee.com
Instagram: @jadareneeholy
X: @jadareneeholy

Over a black background, Split This Rock's red logo appears above bold white text which glows red and reads "2025 Pushcart Prize Nominations." Below the text is a collage featuring photos of the 6 nominees. From left to right: Miller Oberman, S.J. Ghaus, Rena Priest, Jada Renée Allen, Aiya Sakr, and Cynthia Manick.

We're celebrating our 6 nominations for the 2025 @PushcartPrize Anthology! Read & share stunning poems by Aiya Sakr, Cynthia Manick, Jada Renée Allen, Miller Oberman, Rena Priest & S.J. Ghaus at The Quarry: bit.ly/3t3U9RZ

#PushcartPrize #2025Pushcart #Poetry #Poems

love you 🤍

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Poems Are Also Spells: A Conversation with Jada Renée Allen. logicmag.io

Drill Whereas cops didn’t respond until the rind of my uncle’s / person was crusted over by snow;

#ContemporaryPoetryChat Day 11:

“Drill” by Jada Renee Allen

originally published in Poem-A-Day

This one is a statement about police/state violence, particularly against people of color.

poets.org/poem/drill

Wow. This stunningly beautiful and incredibly emotive poem "God Willin" by Jada Renée Allen, curated by @bardsbesidebars.bsky.social is a must-read.

God Willin for my great-grandaunt Willie Jane Taylor (1929-2005) You were as country as the place you were born: Belzoni Hump, and I loved you for it. Every time you were questioned, you'd answer with a hoarse God willin. You were that country, and (Golly!) churched. Once, Mother Peebles asked in passing if you could still bring the cobbler for the church potluck. God willin, you said, your voice as gallant as a long-legged gal from the South, which you were: skin cracked with age but still smooth. And those heels. Gal, I'm talking heels cracked and callused just so, looked like you was coming up on the rough side of the mountain. Thank you for seeing me through till then, your end; for the black coffee, plenty sugar, and little cream you gave me; for the insulin shots you made me watch you give yourself; for that one swat on my ass when I got too fresh at church; for the tough butterscotch you kept in your purse just for me;

The latest in my curation for Poetry Corner at the Chicago Reader is now available online! Make sure to read this beautiful poem, "God Willin" by Jada Renée Allen!!! You can read it at the link or in the image below. And stay tuned for more poems!
chicagoreader.com/reader-partn...

Sambula Kalûnga. Sambula Great Desire of the Unrotting Waters. Sîmba sîmbi. Ezenwanyị mmiri dị ike n'ụbọchị Eke, Orie, Afor na Nkwo.

Zola. 🌻💛✨

My deepest thanks to Greg Pardlo who selected “Water-Light” for @vqr.bsky.social, & to my Living Malungu—too many to name here. Even when we drift apart, we always return to the shared waters that connect us; — to the hold of the ship, so to speak.

I invite you to experience this piece with a calabash or bowl of water nearby, allowing your body to respond to both the physical water & the flowing text.

This work began at the Poets & Scholars Summer Writing Retreat at Rutgers Institute for the Study of Global Racial Justice, where (through the piece) we explored water through touch and reflection.

Malèmbe & Ndewo. After much anticipation, my lyric essay, “Water-Light,” concerning the Nzadi, Mississippi, & other waterbodies that have shaped & reshaped my life is finally here for you to wonder alongside. 🪡🧵

Full poem:
www.vqronline.org/winter-2024/...

Our Winter issue is online today, featuring reporting by Lauren Markham, essays from Will Boast and @kellymcmasters.bsky.social , fiction from Paul Theroux, a comic from Michael D. Kennedy, Cig Harvey’s color manifesto, poetry by @ds-waldman.bsky.social, and more! www.vqronline.org/winter-2024