By Jennifer Carrasco

Providence Mount St. Vincent, where I live now, is hosting a book launch of my poetry book,"Magpie,"  on September 26th, 6:30-8:00pm on the 2nd floor, at St,. Vincent Lounge.  The address is 4831 35th Avenue, SW, Seattle, 98126. The public is welcome.
(parking is sometimes easier if you park on Hudson Street or 37th Ave. and walk to the front lobby that faces 35th Ave)

I have been writing poetry since the 80's, and my poetry book, Magpie, includes 40 of my poems and 28 of my paintings paintings and photos.

The Magpie is a bird often found in the Palouse region, the far SE section of Washington State where I was raised. This creature has a habit of swooping down and picking up shiny objects to bring to its nest– an apt metaphor for my habits as a painter and poet.

"......My friend Kate and I 
bent in green wheat, 
uprooting stray rye stalks;
those stepchildren in seed stock. 

We were “roguing the wheat,” 
our job at the start of the summer 
Her giggle tapped the tops 
of the  grain like skipped pebbles
as we bobbed down the hill,
joking, singing, throwing dirt clods. 

The wind rippled down the hills 
and pushed waves of wheat grass 
in a surf of soft hissing green........"  From "Seed Wheat"

My book is about the natural world, its animals and plants, the events in my life, and how we humans have lived on this earth. How we have abused nature and loved it. How we moved from place to place as a travelers.The landscapes and lovers, the beginnings and endings

My family, the landscape of my childhood, my travels and teaching, and fifty years of drawing, painting and writing in my journals have had a significant influence on how I have expressed myself in my paintings and poetry. 

The public is welcome to join us at St. Vincent's for the readings of my poetry. Refreshments and canapés will be served courtesy of St. Vincent's, and I will have signed "Magpie" books and postcards of my art available for purchase.

…..”Gate of Heaven,
   Morning Star.
 
You are
      the dazzle
on sweating walls,
        the lustered gleam
on fetid ponds.

You clothe with gold
               and majesty
 the starving dogs

and ragged beggars
              squatting by canals.” ...... 

From "Virgin Procession", Manila

Jennifer Carrasco is a longtime West Seattle resident and internationally recognized muralist whose work combines historical depth, mythic storytelling, and botanical elegance. With decades of experience painting large-scale trompe l’oeil and chinoiserie murals for clients ranging from Tommy Bahama to private collectors, she brings a distinctive Northwest voice to decorative arts. Her artistic journey has taken her from Peace Corps service and teaching in the Philippines to NEA residencies across the globe, and long ago she chose to make West Seattle her home.