From Broadway World
THE LUCKY LIGHTHOUSE, the new adult coloring book by poet Jessica Kratz, shows the beauty of lighthouses. Newly published by Boulevard Books, Jessica R. Kratz has always been inspired by the natural treasures and scenic wonders of her hometown of Staten Island NY, where she has lived nearly her entire life. Jessica holds a B.A. in Social Studies 7-12 from St. John's University, Staten Island and an M.A. History from the College of Staten Island.
Having always been enchanted by the spark plug lighthouse that offered a glimpse back in time from the windows of the Staten Island Ferry, Jessica began writing The Lucky Lighthouse. Encouraged by the development of National Lighthouse Museum, where Jessica has volunteered, prior to and since it first opened its doors to the public on August 7. 2014, Jessica moved forward with the manuscript and subsequent publication. Illustrated by a former Greenbelt Educator/Art Instructor, Kathy Trimarco, The Lucky Lighthouse is truly a hometown, homegrown book, one that teaches natural and cultural history in a light-hearted, engaging way.
A former NYC Urban Park Ranger, Jessica assumed the role of editor for Pathways, the quarterly publication of the NYS Outdoor Education Association, in fall 2009, and in the 7 years in this role, has sprinkled poetry, along with essays and photographs, into the publications. In 2009, Jessica was a finalist in the first-ever Freshkills Park Haiku Contest, and this poem received new life in spring 2016, as it was pyroetched (wood burned) into a piece of reclaimed wood and installed as part of the Greenbelt Poetry Trail, a series of site-specific haikus installed along the Nature Center Trail.<
In February 2016, Jessica returned to the microphone and became part of the borough's burgeoning slam poetry scene, becoming a performance poet and competing and earning a slot on Advanced, the first team Staten Island has ever sent to the National Poetry Slam. The team competed in Decatur, Georgia, in early August. As part of team fundraising, HE Jessica contributed to and compiled Chapbook No. 5, a compilation of the poetry of Advanced slam finalists and Tariq Zaid, co-owner of the Richmond Hood Company. Jessica's poem, "Personal Mythology" was included in the Summer 2016 NYSAI magazine, and she was one of the featured readers at the magazine launch in July 2016.
Boulevard Books is an educational publishing company for the 21st century. Founded by educator and author Avi Gvili in 2010, it aims to bring to the public the voices of the new century.