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Book by Jane Muschenetz Reviewed by Pennell Paugh
September 23, 2024 (San Diego)—In Power Point, local poet Jane Muschenetz, invites her readers to treat women better, awaken to our inner energy and potential, take a stern look at our nation’s priorities, and demands we stop gun violence by running for office. She then calls on us to look at our personal priorities and principles, and to take in the overwhelming beauty of our world.
Her poem, “Pink Noise,” helps us to see and feel the oneness of it all and even see poetry in science. On the other hand, science can question the very essence of motherhood, yet bury the lessons of history in women’s studies.
Here is an excerpt from “Pink Noise:”
PINK NOISE
. . . Did you know that the infinitesimal caress that layers
nacre into pearls, conforms to the same pattern as the ocean’s steady breath?
Each in-and-out, of each wave, upon the shore—seemingly random,
in fact, keeps to the same rhythms as the human pulse and that
(1 ⁄f ) procession, which governs (or unites?) such disparate things (!)
as synapses that fire in your brain and, equally complex, financial systems
that, at times, graze calmly and, at times, are Nervous Nellies,
the buzzing of a dying star and the sporadic dance of summer raindrops— is called ‘Pink Noise.’
In free verse, Muschenetz reminds her readers of simple truths, using direct and easily understandable language. Yet, her profound statements need to be read over and over to fully penetrate and change how we live as individuals.
Thank you, Jane for your refreshing honesty about American culture.
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About the author:
Jane Muschenetz arrived in the US as a Jewish child refugee from Soviet Ukraine. MIT graduate and former Bain Management Consultant, Jane's debut chapbook, All the Bad Girls Wear Russian Accents (Kelsay, 2023), won the 2024 California Press Women Communications Prize in Creative Verse and was named San Diego Writers Festival 2024 Poetry Collection of the Year.
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