“Not Her Husband All Safe in His Grave” is part of a novel in verse that I’ve written based on my family’s stories. Many of those stories focus on either the kids or my grandfather, who died when my father was only seven. My poems center on my granny and her experiences, to give her the attention she often lacked during her lifetime. The sestina felt a natural fit for this theme. 

Jennifer Schomburg Kanke’s work has appeared in New Ohio Review, Massachusetts Review, Shenandoah and Salamander, as well as winning the Sheila-Na-Gig Editor’s Choice Award. Her zine about her experiences undergoing chemotherapy for ovarian cancer, Fine, Considering, is available from Rinky Dink Press. She serves as a reader for The Dodge. 

W: jenniferschomburgkanke.com
I: @jenschomburgkanke
F: Jennifer Schomburg Kanke