Blooming In Winter, by literary and visual artist Jennifer O'Neill Pickering, is a collection of lyrical poetry celebrating the sense of place: rural and urban and important passages: birth, love, loss, exploration, maturity, and death. Jennifer's poetry is both accessible and thought provoking; often humorous, it reflects an interest in nature and the nature of human relationships. Her voice honors beginnings in rural northern California writing of the loss of habitat, farmland and wilderness, and a longing for simpler living. She invites urbanites and country cousins to connect with her poetry. Her writing has been described by Sacramento Poet Laureate Emeritus Bob Stanley, "Sweet and painful pulling the reader close with a clear lyrical voice." Julia Connor, Sacramento Poet Laureate Emeritus described her poetry as "A lyric voice alive to the environment and as awake to the interior weathers." You will find writing with the detail of a painter capturing the layers of the landscape and textures of relations in nuances of color. The book includes ten of Jennifer's visual art works.
About the Author: Jennifer has worn many hats including that of teacher, proof reader, Technology Specialist. While she's retired most of these there are two hats she wears every day-- that of a literary and visual artist. She grew-up in northern California and lived in Buffalo, New York, where she studied art and writing at S.U.N.Y. Buffalo. There she had the honor of interviewing Pulitzer Prize winning poet, Gwendolyn Brooks. She also first exhibited her art work at the university at a "Black Mountain College" reading and art exhibit. She is a featured poet and essayist at the online website, entitled, Restore and Restory: A Peoples History of the Cache Creek Nature Preserve. I Am the Creek, was selected, with seven other poets, for the site-specific sculpture, entitled, Open Circle in Sacramento. Other publication credits include: Sacramento Voices (2014) PoetNews (interviews and poetry), Tiger's Eye Journal (poetry), Cosumnes River Journal, and Yellow Silk (Oakland). She studied art and writing at S.U.N.Y. Buffalo and then later received an MA in Studio Art at C.S.U. Sacramento. Her award-winning visual art is featured in Moon Mist Valley, 13th Moon (S.U.N.Y. Albany) Poetsexpresso, News&Review, Cosumnes River Journal, Blue Moon Literary and Art Review Sacramento Bee, and other publications. Her art was also, featured on the poster for the exhibit, Creating Freedom: The Art and Poetry of Domestic Violence Survivors. Jennifer's visual art has been exhibited in many Sacramento galleries including: The Verge, Fe Gallery, Crocker Art Museum, Robert Else Gallery (CSU Sacramento), California History Museum, CSU (Sacramento) and a national traveling show: PTSD Nation, Capitol Public Radio, S.U.N.Y. Buffalo, KVIE Public Television, Channel 10 News and the Sacramento Bee. In 2013, she was awarded a grant from the Sacramento Metropolitan Arts Commission to compile and edit the anthology entitled, Sable & Quill: The visual art and writing of writers who are also artists. Awards include the best California State Workers Poem and honorable mention for a collection of poems and short stories, entitled, "The Farmlands Stories," Five Quarterly. Her prose, the" Improbable Cat Lover" was published by Harlequin, in The Dog with the Old Soul. She makes her home in northern California with her family. Contact Jennifer through her blog sitehttp: //jennifersword.blogspot.com/or jenniferartist@gmail.com, Facebook