The Treasures That Prevail (Paperback)
The Treasures That Prevail is about climate change and its effects on Miami; the poems in this collection confront the ills of modern society in general, mourn both public and personal losses, and predict the difficulties of a post-modern life in a flooded, Atlantis-like lost city. The narrators are two unnamed women, married with a teenage daughter and a teenage son, who live in a part of Miami that will be underwater unless action is taken. The Treasures That Prevail is a parable about what could happen to any of our low-lying coastal cities if we don't start to make changes now.
Jen Karetnick is the Creative Writing Director for Miami Arts Charter School, teaching poetry, fiction, creative nonfiction and playwriting/scriptwriting to students in grades 6-12. She holds an MFA in poetry from the University of California, Irvine, and an MFA in fiction from the University of Miami. A native of New Jersey, Karetnick lives in Miami Shores on the last remaining acre of an historic mango plantation with her husband and their two children, three dogs, three cats, and fourteen mango trees.
Reviewed by Barbara Harroun - Mom Egg Review
"On encountering the hurricane-force voice of The Treasures That Prevail's
opening poem, 'Miami as the Narrator of the Next Great American Novel: A
Personetelle,' I knew I was going to dive deeply, coming up for air only when
necessary. The collection's title is drawn from Adrienne Rich's 'Diving Into
the Wreck,' and Jen Karetnick turns a steely, unflinching eye toward the
wrecks we are complicit in creating: in the environments of the land we
inhabit, in the relationships we cultivate, and in the places we make our
homes—both those we are unwilling to ever leave and those we are forced to
flee...This collection is worth holding onto, and Jen Karetnick's work is
definitely worth seeking out."
Foreword Reviews
"That ominous sloshing sound Jen Karetnick hears in her sleep is the warmer,
ever-fatter Atlantic spilling over the brim of her Miami hometown. Denial be
damned, this collection confronts climate change and poetically spotlights
the damage awaiting low-lying coastal areas if meaningful action isn't taken
now. An MFA holder from the University of Miami, her work has appeared in
numerous top journals."
"On encountering the hurricane-force voice of The Treasures That Prevail's
opening poem, 'Miami as the Narrator of the Next Great American Novel: A
Personetelle,' I knew I was going to dive deeply, coming up for air only when
necessary. The collection's title is drawn from Adrienne Rich's 'Diving Into
the Wreck,' and Jen Karetnick turns a steely, unflinching eye toward the
wrecks we are complicit in creating: in the environments of the land we
inhabit, in the relationships we cultivate, and in the places we make our
homes—both those we are unwilling to ever leave and those we are forced to
flee...This collection is worth holding onto, and Jen Karetnick's work is
definitely worth seeking out."
Foreword Reviews
"That ominous sloshing sound Jen Karetnick hears in her sleep is the warmer,
ever-fatter Atlantic spilling over the brim of her Miami hometown. Denial be
damned, this collection confronts climate change and poetically spotlights
the damage awaiting low-lying coastal areas if meaningful action isn't taken
now. An MFA holder from the University of Miami, her work has appeared in
numerous top journals."