JEWELLED RAINBOW

The original purpose of this book of poetry and related essays was to preserve some of my writings for my family and to share them with friends who frequently ask me for copies of my poems. I have always loved poetry, and as I studied and taught literature, I was impressed by the simplicity and depth of meaning in the work of great poets. I was inspired by them and by my teachers to write poetry about real life situations. When I was told by various persons that they liked my poetry because they found the poems to be both personal and universal, I began to consider publishing them. After a friend agreed to design the cover, I made the decision. While working on the manuscript and talking about my project with interested acquaintances, I learned that I am not the only person who keeps a poetry journal. Many who write poetry save their own poems and collect poems from various sources. Since several persons-of different ages-- also expressed a desire to know more about writing poetry, I added to the book, along with journal pages, a section on the fundamentals of writing poetry, citing examples from my own poems. My intent was to keep the instruction simple but comprehensive enough to be helpful. I hope that those who obtain the book will be encouraged to write more poetry and share it with others.

Frances Cogan Jackson, a native of Peru, Indiana, and a resident of Westfield, Indiana, received a Bachelor of Arts Degree in English and French from Indiana University and a Master of Arts Degree in Comparative Literature from Purdue University. She is a member of the Phi Beta Kappa Society. She taught English and French at Peru High School, Lewis Cass High School, and North Miami High School, in Indiana, and taught classes in writing at Indiana University-Purdue University in Indianapolis. She studied French in France and Switzerland, and while teaching at North Miami High School, she sponsored student trips to France and England, often accompanied by her children and grandchildren. She has travelled in other parts of Europe and in Canada and Mexico. The author attirbutes her fascination with poetry to a "blood relationship" with rhythm and rhyme. Her father, although he didn't read music, was.able to play a variety of instruments, and one of his sisters was a prolific poet. Art is Jackson's favorite pastime, and she frequently has public displays of her work. A lively interest in family, human values, nature, and art is evident in Jackson's writing. She has five children, four residing in Indiana and one in South Carolina.