GRIT by Karen Luke Jackson

A moving tribute to a sister’s life and legacy, Karen Luke Jackson’s Grit allows a community to love and grieve a woman whose laughter and silliness charmed children and unprepared adults, from school cafeterias to state conventions to the White House lawn.  In the voices of friends, family, and Janis/Clancy herself, these impressive poems share the passion and challenges of a performer who confesses “I needed a clown’s heart / to hold this worlds’ despair and ecstasy.”

–Dr. Kenneth Chamlee, Professor Emeritus, Brevard College, author of Absolute Faith and Logic of the Lost

Karen Luke Jackson’s Grit, a fascinating sequence of clown poems, is arresting, lively and a great “read.”  It dovetails with the current interest in popular culture in “clown” figures, making it a timely publication.  Karen’s poetry is a joy to read.

–Tina Barr, author of Green Target, winner of Barrow Street Prize and Brockman-Campbell Award

“Hey Everybody!” Mayor Clancey’s greeting resonates in these poems and stories shared through her sister, Karen Luke Jackson. Their life strings will wrap around your heart and transport you to a world that was never make believe.

–Theresa Garrett, Pinky the Clown

With narrative intensity and compassionate lyrical language, Karen Luke Jackson’s poems take us inside a “world of rainbows and crayoned hearts.” Part tribute, part exploration, they delve beneath the clown costume and laughter into the heart of a complex woman.

–Pat Riviere-Seel, author of Nothing Below But Air and The Serial Killer’s Daughter