Five Poems

by A.E. Jenks

Fabric of a Kiss

Trojan Man

Blemished

Behind My Door

Venus


Biographical Note

I am Allison Eir Jenks-I just turned 23 and I currently live in Champaign, IL. I studied poetry at Columbia College in Chicago and UIUC in Champaign. My degree is in Creative Writing/English. I'll be in grad school next year studying poetry some more. My first book has just come out on the market. It's a book of poetry called,"The Liquid In Love," published by Aegina Press in West Virginia. It's a lot of prose and free verse. Some people tell me that I write in a feminist tone but without male-bashing (If there is such a thing) The only poem from the book is "Fabric Of A Kiss." The rest are new and unpublished.

I hope to be a poetry professor. I have always felt the passion to write. My mom said that when I was three years old, she'd find me in the basement writing books on an old typewriter. My life right now is as simple and structured as it's been in a while. I spent almost all of my life in Chicago so when I moved to Champaign the transition was quite odd-I walked too fast on dates and I always felt rushed. It was somehow embedded in me to drive fast and intensely ruthless (rush hour) and I still haven't learned how to go to bed early and have no where to go after 1 a.m. But this tranquil environment is good for me. I get less parking tickets-well, sort of and I have less distractions because the only fun thing this town has to offer is dopey hamburgers and wilted fries at "Steak and Shake," and this sloppy, fattening gravy dish called the haystack at the "Homestretch" restaurant. Okay, it's not too bad, but it has been a definite adjustment. Strangely enough, I miss school. I feel guilty that I'm not waking up at the break of dawn to rush to class. I can't wait to go back. Since I decided to stay in Champaign until August, I opened up a store called "Venus." Having my own business allows me the freedom to stare at my computer all day and write.


Allison Jenks

Allison Eir Jenks
203 S. Third #303
Champaign, Il 61820
217-356-1804