Intercede: Saints for Concerning Occasions

Poetry & Short Stories/Literary Fiction

by Jennifer Clark

Jennifer Clark’s Intercede: Saints for Concerning Occasions offers us a fresh perspective on the world of Catholic saints. Here you will find saints both familiar and obscure, canonized and uncanonized, recognized and rejected. Using a combination of original poetry, lively commentary, and exquisite illustrations, Clark relates their stories with insight, pathos, and humor, creating nothing less than a new, down-to-earth calendar of saints, perfect for the present day.

REVIEW

5 out of 5

This was such an interesting mix of poetry and prose dedicated to the saints. I was raised Catholic, and although I’ve never truly vibed with the religion, and I’m an openly practicing pagan now, I still pray to some saints fairly regularly. (Old habits die hard, I suppose). While I would have appreciated reading the author’s notes alongside the works dedicated to the saints, I also enjoyed getting introduced to them through the author’s eyes first. Clark’s unique way of presenting them, whether through poems or prose, or short anecdotes, gives you a new view of the ones you’re familiar with. For the ones you aren’t, it’s an interesting way to first meet them. If you’re interested in the saints, or just poetry and short literary fiction but don’t mind a religious tint, then you’ll likely enjoy this!

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Instead of telling you that her writings has been nominated for the Pushcart Prize seven times and once for the Rhysling Award and that five of her books have been nominated for a Michigan Notable book, Jennifer Clark probably want you to know that her first writing award was for a “bad writing” contest in which she compared the moon to a stale, fingernail clipping.

While Jennifer Clark is perhaps most known for her poetry—having authored four full-length poetry collections, most recently Intercede: Saints for Concerning Occasions—she has found herself editing anthologies and authoring the children’s book, What Do You See In Room 21 C? Her memoir, Kissing the World Goodbye, braids family tales with recipes and was named a top-selling book of 2022 by Unsolicited Press.

Her poems, essays, and fiction have appeared in Midwest Quarterly Review, Fiction Fix, Women’s Studies Quarterly, Columbia Journal, Concho River Review, Nimrod, Ecotone, and Flyway, among others.