Ticket No. '9672'

Ticket No. '9672' by Jules Verne

A writer and artist all her life, Jill Evans Petzall earned a BA in Philosophy and English Literature (Magna cum Laude) and an MA in Philosophy from Washington University in St. Louis. Known for casting a balanced light on social issues and subjects not often represented in mainstream media, she wrote and produced over forty award-winning documentaries that offer poetic and uncommon insights about human beings speaking within the grip of their daily lives. Always a strong supporter of causes that benefit women and children, she served as the chairwoman of the Square One Foundation.

Jill modeled a fierce independence and courage to build a life according to one's own vision. She was a photographer who found visual stories in the laundry of India and the mannequins of Southeast Asia. She was a jewelry maker who created dazzling pieces of wearable art. Her synesthesia meant she saw words and sounds as colors on the page. She played a mean hand of poker. She was one of few people in the world who loved anchovies on IMO's pizza. She was allergic to parsley and the color red.

Jill began to publish years of her poems at the age of 77 in response to a recurrence of the cancer she'd survived twice before. She passed away in 2024 at the age of 82.

In this collection of twenty-nine poems, she explores themes of mortality, love, and joy.

Bliss / Body Time / For the Time. Being. / On Leaving Home / Half a Moon Full of Midnight / This is My Body / It Can't Jinx Anything to Think About Hope, Can it? / Love, This Time / Reading the News Before Daybreak / The Survivor's Pep Talk / Spinners / Intermezzo - A Rant / Mobile of Tears / View Point / Turning the Corner / The Renewal of Ice / Robotic Romance / This Orphaned Sky / Agnostic Prayers / The Prose of a PET Scan / Silent Roots / Our Menopause / Incomplete Sentence / The Monster Suite / Talking to Time / Global / Warming / Embryos / From the Fire Escape / Heartfelt