Jessica Piazza
Poetry
Jessica Piazza is the author of three poetry collections and a children’s book. Born and raised in Brooklyn, New York, Jessica now lives in Los Angeles, where she teaches at the University of Southern California. She co-founded Bat City Review and Gold Line Press, and is the 2019 recipient of the Amy Clampitt residency award. Her poems have recently appeared in Best American Poetry, Smartish Pace, and 32 Poems.
Alice, 41
“ This piece comes from a manuscript I've been working on called Woman, 41: an exploration of what it's like to be a 41-year-old woman in the world, right in this specific cultural, political, and social moment. Some of the poems are inspired by famous women, some by women who aren't famous, per se, but who have been in the news, and some are about me. The weird thing about this particular poem is that it's the only one I wrote that's about a fictional character. Down the line, I might not include it in the book because I recognize that it doesn't really fit, but I just loved the idea of this curious, bright, stubborn, interesting girl all grown up, but still following those proverbial, pesky white rabbits who can never quite be fully caught. ”