colors, and words
Jana Zvibleman
Pronounced J (as in J) ana (rhymes with bandana) ZWEE bel mn
Jana is the poet laureate of her backyard, which currently lies amidst the Oregon mountains. A storyteller by heredity, she has collaborated with sculptors, painters, actors, buskers, and a flugelhornist. She bursts into story anywhere, on her purple chair, on a river path . . . and on The Moth Storytelling mainstage. Jana is also a photographer, essayist, artist-on-the-loose, playwright, and a teacher of writing, the Montessori approach for parents, and other life-saving techniques. Her work can be found in literary journals, chapbooks, anthologies, magazines, and on t-shirts.
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Contact Jana directly at janazbooks@gmail.com
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Stories, personal essays, photos, drawings . . .
plus announcements of events.
Recent additions:
The story of a hippie wedding
Images of Ice - The Good Kind
The blog is free. Please sign up for access!
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BOOKS​​
Let's support local independent bookstores, which stock or can order most of Jana’s books.
Irelandish
by Jana Zvibleman
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Affection is a theme throughout this travel memoir, as two American blow-ins zigzag through the land of the redheads. For those who know Ireland, you'll laugh, sigh, and nod. If you've yet to visit, you'll be inspired to turn over even the quirky stones. If vicarious travel is your thing, these endearing stories will bring you on a journey that is foot-tapping, cliff-hanging, and lumpy-bedded.
THE BAD MOTHERS
by Jana Zvibleman
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The Milk-and-Cookies mothers. The Much-Too-Busy mothers. The Wire-Monkey-Surrogate-Mothers, providing milk but no fur...Every kind of mother, no matter how well-meaning, whether gracious or worried or big-hippo-critical, is likely to be blamed at some point for not doing it right. In this, their own story, our world's so-called Bad Mothers escape the pointing fingers and come into themselves. Here is their long-overdue, hilarious celebration.
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"All of these bad mothers are me," say some women.
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"I'm certainly not a bad mother," others say. "But, let me tell you about my mother!"
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The author's "get it?" musings enhance the important conversation about our stereotypes, expectations, and potential.
bruyote tales
by Jana Zvibleman
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You too can morph your loved ones into classic characters in your own life's fables. Be inspired and entertained by these romping stories about the Native American trickster figure Coyote, in the guise of the author's true love, Bruce (bru-O-tee). The modern hero/scoundrel/force-of-nature/fool creates a sports car, cares for a new being, hangs out in a coffee shop . . . all while flummoxing his family and friends. DeLightFull!
Other selected work by Jana
"Bucket of Water" Short Story Wising Up Press Anthology "The Kindness of Strangers"
"Jennifer Said" Poem Wising Up Press Anthology "Surprised by Joy"
Jana's audio of several poems Oregon Poetic Voices
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"She Owns More Sky Than I Do" and "We Had a Falling Out, and So "
The Knotted Bond Oregon Poets Speak of Their Sisters Uttered Chaos
"when she is 18"
This poem has made women laugh, nod, and sigh for years. It is salve and celebration for any daughter of a mother, and for any mother of a daughter.
An illustrated broadside (suitable for framing) is available directly from Jana.
The poem appears in Calyx, Internation Journal of Women's Art and Literature
and in Florilegia, Clayx's ten-year anthology
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"Who Ate My Plums? Alternative Notes on the Icebox" Faultlines Poetry Issue One​​
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