what people are saying . . .
No Illusions
Jackie is an extraordinary writer. Her work is stupendous. Every page in her No Illusions. Through the Looking Glass will leave you wanting more, and I would recommend Jackie's books to anyone who wants to read something remarkable.
Elizabeth Stacy
Grundy, Virginia
Before giving a copy of Jackie's second book, Dark Side of the Moon, to my 100-year old mother in Toledo, Ohio, I intended to highlight my favorite poems in the book for her. However, I found that in a second reading for that purpose, every selection once again touched me for different reasons. I felt amusement, encouragement, sadness, joy and lots of bittersweet nostalgia for the past time and places I visited through the plethora of subjects offered in the poems woven by words from Jackie’s heart and soul.
Joan Dineen
Springfield, Virginia
Congratulations on your third book, and thank you for the honor to comment on your writings, Jackie! Your work goes straight to the soul. You have an uncanny talent and the ability to say with words what we, as readers, can only feel. Each of your books should be a recommended reading in all healing facilities and on all creative writing arenas.
Deborah Branham
Haysi, Virginia
Reader, the book in your hand, No Illusions. Through the Looking Glass by Jackie Davis Allen, a prolific versifier, is no illusion of a poetic craftswoman-ship. I am as enamored by her third book as I have been by her first. I believe you will be too.
In this book, Jackie writes about her childhood, her surroundings of the past and present, along with her hopes for the future. I will focus on one piece alone, "And, It Came to Pass", a poetic prose composition I dub a ballad. All plaudits that are the attributes of Jackie’s other poems in this collection can be collectively ascribed to this one ballad.
"And, It Came to Pass", is a long but concise poem. Poems require a knack of brevity, which she possesses in abundant supply. At one point in this poem, Jackie says, “It was an ancient settled place time forgot”. These lines alone conjure up imagery of historical and ancient ruins I so love. I thought these are memories of old times, not unlike precious ruins we excavate to visit and savor. She incited in me such reaction through her words. In the same poem, she says: “Days came as they would”. Again, her words reminded me of the potent inevitability of having to live life with no alternatives. These are simple words and phrases, but the placements are judicious.
Jackie tells me a story. In retrospect. I, like a child, hold her hand and let her take me, wherever she goes. I would love to go along if she were to take me.
Charu Gandhi, Poet
Hoffman Estates, Chicago
Your writings are so powerful, Jackie! Each is very imaginative and relatable. Your use of words and pictures are rich and deep with emotion. Keep penning those most impressive words of yours.
Teresa Marrs Burks
Hurley, Virginia
I am honored to say, I have known Jackie personally all my life. And, I knew how incredibly intelligent she is. However, I did not know the extent of her artistic gifts until I started reading her books and viewing her artwork in them. Like her writings, her artwork, too, is breathtaking.
I have to say that the astounding poetry of Jackie Davis Allen takes you into another world. She is blessed with many God-gifted abilities. I would love to be a talented writer and artist as she is. I highly recommend her writing as well as her art (take note of the cover, which she painted during the Vietnam War). Thank you, Jackie, for blessing us with your exceptional poetic work and your devotion to creating it.
Helen Conrad Justus
Hansonville, Virginia
Beautifully evocative!
Jill Hill
Springfield, Virginia
I was lying in bed one evening, reading Jackie's poetry and trying to calm myself into a sleep. I happened upon the following verse from Jackie's second book, Dark Side of the Moon: "Do the rivers of your mind run deep? / Are you haunted by doubts and unable to sleep?" Yes, was my answer. If you have ever felt this way, I highly recommend reading the rest of Jackie's poem, "Dreamscape of the Mind". Jackie has a beautiful way of expressing life's journey.
Geannie Wells
Springfield, Virginia
A great read, brilliant, well-crafted.
Madan Gandhi, Poet
In 2012
Upon Reading "Innocence Lost"
By Jackie Davis Allen
I have read many of Jackie Davis Allen's poems. Her themes revolve around human feelings, emotions and experiences. The poems in this third collection, No Illusions. Through the Looking Glass, are written in heart's ink. She keeps the reader by her side right from the beginning to the end.
Her poems express the philosophy of life and revolve around profoundly articulated themes. The characters are taken from real life as well as from composite lives, and their emotions are presented in an empathetic tone. Readers can find themselves and many others around them in the characters of her poems, all of whom are embedded in reality. It would be an injustice to the author’s talent in crafting prose and poetry not to admire the vividness of her descriptions, pathos and use of metaphors and similes.
Yasmin Khan, Teacher and Poet
Pakistan
Jackie Davis Allen's poetry is elegant and intimate. Reading her work evokes a nuanced picture of captured time, and often relinquishes long-stilled feelings. She has a gift that draws you into her moment. You hear her words and listen to her plea to be present in life, forgive those you have hurt and who have hurt you, and embrace the possibilities within you. In "Fulfillment of a Dream" in her second book, Dark Side of the Moon, Jackie writes: "Replaced the blinders in the eyes of those who once placed limits on the blueprint of possibility." She bestows the power within her to inspire us to be all that we can.
Melissa Deutsch
Fairfax Station, Virginia
If asked to name a single person who has influenced me over the years, my answer would be: Jackie Davis Allen. An artist, a poet of mark with a distinct style, an author of two books who has written a foreword to two of my collections, a presence of elitist air, aloof and indifferent, she loves nature. Her literary themes explore complex human relationships with calm and ease. I have known this graceful lady, for very long. Jackie has been both a guide and a valued friend in my arduous journey of discovery, wonder and awe. A poet of consummate ability and superlative genius, her subtle pen dwells deeper into the human suffering and joy.
She excels in story-telling, which is always an account based on reality from the stock of her life. An exclusive genius, she retains her grace and unique style. She has been a great support and an indispensable source of inspiration.
Sadiqullah Khan, Poet
Pakistan
Dark Side of the Moon
Jackie Davis Allen has a unique talent for enmeshing her readers into her literary works. We empathize with the voices in her poetry; they speak to both our joys and our grief. Their expressions of uncertainty, turmoil, and self-doubt bring to mind the ensuing emotions we have all experienced on life's journey. We learn that our own failures and disappointments are a shared human condition, thus leaving us with assurance that life, love, acceptance and resolution will prevail, time will heal, and that, like the various phases of the moon, life will once again reveal some of its light.
Betty K. Hagan
Winter Springs, FL. USA
One of my favorites was the poem, “The Notable, the Quotable” because it was written just for me, or I want to believe it is just for me. Jackie is an amazing poet who can look at almost anything and create a poem. She wrote this poem in less than an afternoon’s time while preparing to come for dinner. We live in the mountains where Jackie also has a home and I know she looked out her window and put into poetry what she saw and felt. Like all great poets, Jackie is a poet all of the time. Jackie’s poems all have deep meaning and they inspire me.
Lani P. Barovick
Admiring Friend, Wintergreen Resort
Roseland, Virginia, USA
Jackie’s poems and writing describe the struggles, joys, and transitions along life’s journey. She is profoundly honest, and enriches the reader’s experience with her creative imagination and tender expressions of the heart. I look forward to more.
Barbara McCarthy
Florence, KY, USA
Jackie Davis Allen delivers captivating poetry with a sweet lyrical voice. She is a great Southern poet to whom I return for comfort, inspiration, and pure joy.
Brenda Blankenship Sykes
Orlando, Florida, USA
Of all your poems I have loved, “Water to the Thirst” is my favorite. As an ancient child of adventure who has spent years in acrid places cascading up and down dunes, this poem meshed with my soul.
Judith Loback
Kent, Washington, USA
“Pondering the Questions”, in particular, is a lovely write that plums the heart of every ambitious writer like it is every fisherman’s hope to land the big one and to succeed with whatever skill and luck that effort takes. But Jackie, I know you are a professional writer because it shows in your craft. Still, this one is special. Truly a poem for poets.
George T. Everette
Delco, North Carolina, USA
If people would know how much effort is put in a poem, choice of words, line and imagination, they would value each work tremendously, like this poem, “A Moment for All Time”. I like this poem for its Japanese flavor, and you have beautifully conveyed it through your words.
Dr. Sadiqullah Khan
Poet and Author, Pakistan
After joining a poetry group, a few years back, I started reading the poetry of Jackie Davis Allen. Prior to doing so, I was little inclined to read modern poetry as if felt, to me, insipid and lackluster compared to classical poetry. Gradually, I developed a special appreciation for her mostly narrative poetry.
Her poems contain beautiful scenes from Nature, metaphors and similes that make them so interesting to read. They speak of hope, peace, forgiveness and optimism despite all the hardships and tough times a person has to experience. In fact, this is all life. Her poems are necessarily about life and the reality of hardships and tough times a person experiences.
By including a protagonist (mostly ‘she’) so many around us can identify with her poetry, thus transcending what otherwise might be a vast gap between the different cultures. Jackie invites her readers to join in the dance of hope, of forgiveness, something that we need most in the present situation of the world.
Yet, we must have an understanding and feeling heart for all the wretched souls around us. Quoting from “A New Day” let us be done today with signs of sadness, of sorrow, and instead, “Come, join in the lively dance!” Let us begin to compose our lives with new purpose, with new lines. As Jackie Davis Allen says in her poem, “Of Necessity”, let us indulge in her vision: “In colors of hope, I chose optimism’s pink offering, may it rekindle the parting gift you gave me last year. Hesitantly, yet determinedly, I am making my way to where you once lived. I pray you are still there.”
So many times we are hesitant; yet, we are also determined to take a path with the hope that there will be a rainbow at the end of the road. Hence, Jackie’s poems are rekindling the faith and the lessons learnt from parents, from books, and from life itself.
Yasmin Khan
Poet and Teacher
Pakistan
Looking for Rainbows
"Each of Jackie Allen's poems is an existential arrow crafted from her very Self; shaped by her incessant creativity; buffed raw, perfected to a sheen, nay, commanded to a brilliance by her purposeful eloquence; and with no apologies delivered into the reader's consciousness. Thus, we receive, willingly, transformed into the poet's artistic alter egos."
Loida Canlas ~ Springfield, Virginia, USA
"Her writing stirs the soul and it is obvious to me it originates from her heart. I always feel drawn in to what she so eloquently puts in to written form....as I embrace the magic of her words… the effect is that I begin to feel that there may even be a poet deep within me longing for self-expression…her works always leave me wanting more. "
Susan Macdonald ~ Victoria, British Columbia, Canada
"Through her medium of poetry, Jackie Allen treats us to galleries of portraits and landscapes….masterpieces that powerfully preserve a past time, place, and way of life!"
Joan Dineen, ~ Springfield, Virginia, USA
"When I read your poetry it helps me to visualize the very things of which it speaks. Many of your poems relate to the coal mining area in the Appalachian where we were born. They bring back many wonderful memories of those days. Our fathers coming home with blackened faces and black clothing can only be visualized by the people that lived in our neighborhood. It does me good knowing that my childhood friend is so talented with her poetry and her beautiful painting of God's creation. Jackie, may you continue to use the God given talent with which you have been blessed.
Justine Smith ~ Hurley, Virginia, USA
of the poems, 'Friday's Face…'
" Jackie, this is a phenomenal poem. I enjoyed every word. The last line really blew me away! An absolutely wonderful write, Jackie. I was there with you. Bravo!"
Jane Lynahan Karklin ~ Sarasota Florida, USA
of 'Prologue to a Survivor's Tale'
"I love the way you weave stories into your poems, Jackie Allen, relating to real incidences. If ever you want your-self to be humble, then go to a hospital incognito and feel with the suffering humanity. Great lines and expressive tenderness."
Dr. Sadiqullah Khan ~ Pakistan
"I love Jackie's poetry. It reminds me of my childhood. I feel so privileged to be able to read her poetry and I love the name of her book.
Madeline Donovan ~ Worth, Illinois, USA
of the poem, "Who Knows?"
"I actually go several times through your work. Every time I learn. The idea of a poem is not to create a musical sound, but to be technically of a superior quality. I am always afraid that most of our work is deteriorated because we quickly slip to slang, emotional covers and hackneyed phrases. Poetry writing is not easy. I loved reading this poem, Jackie."
Dr. Sadiqullah Khan ~ Pakistan
"Jackie Allen’s poetry uses words to paint pictures of life experiences. The reader is drawn into a wide range of emotions. Her passionate writings speak to memories as well as describe whimsical, imaginative events. Jackie touches the reader’s heart and soul with her words. Her poetry should be enjoyed with a glass of fine wine."
Shirley Janke Edwards ~ Springfield, Virginia, USA
"Jackie Allen’s poetry is the work of feelings and emotions. These emotions are deep and strong. There is a streak of somberness that runs through her poems. Nostalgia dominates but she seems to be contented with the present, too. She never gives up hope even in the moments of dejection.
She takes her inspiration from different phenomena of nature, memories and love. A cherished memory, falling snowflakes or merely a word like ‘wee’ may inspire a wonderful poem.
She has depicted some memorable scenes, as in the first verse of “Outside My Window”, quite masterfully. In most of her poems themes revolve round a protagonist either ‘I’ or ‘he’/’she’ and readers can identify themselves with them as they portray true human feelings.
Jackie Allen aptly uses certain poetic devises like alliteration and metaphors to enhance the themes and to intensify the mood and feelings. In short, her poems touch the heart and captivate the mind."
Yasmeen Khan ~ Islamabad, Pakistan
“Jackie, a longtime friend, is a poet whose heart is pure, curious and open. Her poetry reflects the passion and great awe she has for all of God’s creation. She has been gifted in life with intellect, talent and generosity. As a giver with hands to the plow, Jackie is unaffected by her abilities and only desires to help and share with others. I would say she is a pioneer woman who with an open heart is brave and willing to do what is needed despite major illnesses and physical limitations. God has gifted her a jewel with many facets that reflect her abilities and faith in going forward with determination and loyalty as one in God’s service to the world around her. She delights in using her gift of poetry to give creative voice to the joy and sorrows that come to all. Her poetry elicits a fascinating range of emotions. In each of Jackie’s Poems, Out of the Darkness and Hand Me Down Shoes, one finds the soul observing the connection of heart to the voice of God.”
