WATER RUNS RED

#1 AMAZON BESTSELLER IN CONTEMPORARY POETRY & WOMEN’S POETRY

a multi-media poetry collection filled with personal photographs and journalistic scribbling

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In a world of tyrant rulers and the misunderstood witches who oppose them, this fantastical narrative poetry collection explores ruined friendships, self-discovery, and the ever raging battle between good and evil.

featuring poems about asexuality, friendship, grief, identity, and activism

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PRAISE FOR WATER RUNS RED

“a new poet explodes into the scene with a dark, fantastical, & all-too-relatable voice. you will consider this your new friendship breakup soundtrack.”

— Amanda Lovelace, Author of the princess saves herself in this one
“I loved this so much. I don't read poetry often but this collection of poems was beautiful. The body positivity in this really resonated with me and I admire Jenna's courage to share this with us. The many poems relating to losing a friend was also something I could relate to and hit me with emotions and memories I too have experienced."

— Kevin, from Goodreads
“a powerful debut from a promising young author. relatable, intricate, and nothing short of magical.”

— Sophia Slade, Author of hummingbird and Valkyrie
“What a beautiful collection of poems, beautiful typography, and photography all rolled into one. I’ve never experienced such a beautiful collection of poetry that I had me in awe of the writing and the photos with in it. Jenna writes about such a wide array of topics from toxic friendships to our political climate to learning to love oneself even in the darkest of times. Each poem resonated with me in different ways, and I’m so proud of her for putting her past and thoughts onto paper to share with the world. It takes bravery to do that, but it made me feel seen and heard, and for that, I thank her.”

— Olivia, from Goodreads
“The words needed to describe this book don’t exist. This was everything I ever needed and so much more. Jenna has a way of articulating the pain of lost friendships, of question self identity and maturing into pure self and I couldn’t have imagined the impact this book would have had on me...This is a masterwork if ever there was one.”

— Charlotte, from Goodreads

FIVE YEARS ON, A REFLECTION

With the rise in “Instagram poetry” in the late 2010s, I wanted to create my own poetry collection. Inspired by Amanda Lovelace and Rupi Kaur, I sought to craft a collection that was more than just words. Instead, I wanted a book that was multi-media, one that featured photographs and doodles and little journalling embellishments. Fresh out of college, I began to piece together my debut poetry collection, Water Runs Red.

I set out to tell a very personal story, one of friendship and betrayal and heartache. So many contemporary writers focus on romantic love, but as someone with an asexual identity, I’m much more interested in platonic relationships. This book tells the stories of numerous friend break-ups. It leans into themes such as sexuality, grief, longing, identity, and even activism.

Although I spent a long time writing this book, I spent much more time crafting the design elements. As this is self-published, every part of this book (except for the handwriting on the front cover and the author photo on the back) was created by myself. I included photos taken by me, my family, and my closest friends, and I designed the inside to mimic a journal or a scrapbook. I documented the entire process in a full-length documentary on my YouTube channel.

This book now lives as an archive of where I once was. Even though I stand by a lot of what I wrote, I recognize now that it was the act of writing that was therapeutic, not the words themselves. It is a piece of myself that I have since buried and am no longer hurt by.

— 2024