The Golden Key to the Garden, by Jacqueline Jules

Poetry, chapbook, 28 pages, from Bottlecap Features.

Cinderella triumphs because she’s lucky enough to have a fairy godmother to provide a new gown and glass slippers. Hans Christian Andersen’s little mermaid mirrors the sacrifices of women for centuries when she gives up her beautiful voice to win a man’s love. Like Alice in Wonderland we live in a world where the golden key to the garden is always just out of reach. But maybe we can learn from Scheherazade in One Thousand and One Nights and save ourselves with stories.

There is a reason why iconic tales are told and retold from generation to generation. A reason why they become reference points in our culture. They reflect our fears and foibles, offering timeless insights. In The Golden Key to the Garden, poet Jacqueline Jules shares personal discoveries gleaned from her favorite stories.

Jacqueline Jules is the author of Manna in the Morning (Kelsay Books, 2021), Itzhak Perlman’s Broken String, winner of the 2016 Helen Kay Chapbook Prize from Evening Street Press, Stronger Than Cleopatra (ELJ Publications, 2014), Field Trip to the Museum (Finishing Line Press, 2014), Tag Your Dreams: Poems of Play and Persistence (Albert Whitman, 2020) and Smoke at the Pentagon: Poems to Remember (Bushel & Peck, 2023). Her poetry has appeared in over 100 publications including Amethyst Review, Autumn Sky Poetry Daily, ONE ART, Gyroscope Review, and Poem Alone. She is also the author of numerous books  for young people including the Zapato Power series and the Sofia Martinez series. Visit her online at www.jacquelinejules.com and https://metaphoricaltruths.blogspot.com/