Jessie Lynn McMains served as the 11th Racine Writer-in-Residence, from July-December 2021. She is a cross-genre writer, small press publisher, and spoken word performer. She has been publishing her own and others’ work in zines and books since 1994, and currently runs Bone & Ink Press, a small press that focuses on boosting the voices of marginalized writers. She is the author of several books, most recently Wisconsin Death Trip and The Loneliest Show On Earth. She has been performing spoken word across the U.S. and Canada since 1998, and her spoken word album, Self-Portrait with Ghosts and Trains, was released by Hello America Stereo Cassette in July 2021. She was the 2016-17 Poet Laureate of Racine, WI, and was the recipient of the 2019 Hal Prize for Poetry. She’s in love with the undying spirit of punk rock, and believes in the power of storytelling to both transform and heal. Find more at her website recklesschants.net.
—
July 2021
Why Bother? (we set out to change the world & ended up just changing ourselves)
READ MORE POETRY (#thesealeychallenge)
August 2021
September 2021
The Transverberation of Frida Kahlo
October 2021
A Field Guide to Ghosts and Cryptids of Southeast Wisconsin
“I guess there’s just a meanness in this world” (Murder Ballads and Death Songs)
November 2021
Love Song during Riot with Many Voices
“you would die, or be happy forever”
December 2021
All That’s Left/All I’ve Ever Known
Jesus of Western Avenue & The Apostles of Humboldt Park
This is a Public Service Announcement with Xerox and Toner: writing & publishing perzines
Racine Writer-In-Residence Project 