Uncertain Times

A murdered palm tree in Malibu, an ant wandering across an arm, and the quiet domestic negotiations of tomatoes and bananas all become portals into deeper reflections on intimacy and human frailty. OConnor's poems balance humor with ache, whether recalling a child left behind, imagining a fantastical house, or recognizing how easily a moment of happiness can slip away. These poems find the extraordinary inside ordinary encounters. Uncertain Times is a collection that is both playful and piercing, meditating on how love, loss, and longing quietly shape how we spend our time.

-Steven Reigns, author, A Quilt for David and Outliving Michael

Each of Jen OConnor's poems in Uncertain Times reveals an intimate story, pulsing with emotion - witty and brainy and sexy - capturing the heartbeat of a mature lesbian. Not oblivious to today's dire political landscape, she may be fatalistic, but she is also optimistic, finding passion in things quotidian as well as magical, imbuing worlds where even the miniscule is fodder and big picture revelations loom large.

-Michael Kearns, actor-activist and founder, QueerWise

In Uncertain Times, Jen OConnor's poems resonate with truth and beauty, humor and passion. She examines especially the complications and joys of discovering, losing, but always remembering love and hope.

-Kim Dower, former Poet Laureate of West Hollywood and author, I Wore This Dress Today for you, Mom and What She Wants