Jessica Raschke was born and bred in Melbourne and is now based in the Southern Highlands (Australia). Her professional background spans writing, editing, research, tertiary and community education, death and grief literacy, and creative consultancy.
She has over 10 years of teaching experience across various disciplines – including journalism, media studies, publishing, communications, cultural studies, and creative and non-fiction writing – at the University of Melbourne, RMIT University, Monash University, Western Sydney University, and Metavision.
She has worked as a writer and editor for several not-for-profit organisations, such as Oxfam Australia, The Dax Centre and All Together Now. Her writing has appeared in Dumbo Feather, Overland, Pip Magazine, The Fold Southern Highlands, Cordite, 5 Poetry Journal, The Big Issue, Metro, The Death Mook, Australian Screen Education, Australian Bookseller + Publisher and InPress. Her books, Luscious Glass Cage (2008), The Beguilings (2010), and Lightning Shades (2021) are published by Ginninderra Press.
In recent years, she worked with The GroundSwell Project to organise From the Brink: A Fringe Festival About Ageing Dying and Grieving in the Blue Mountains. In 2018 and 2019, she was the local lead of Compassionate Communities in Bundanoon, as part of an international movement that mobilises communities around end-of-life issues, with the support of Quest for Life. Compassionate Communities was led by The GroundSwell Project throughout Australia.
Other installations have included: Soul Secrets, as part of Micro Galleries in Nowra (2015), Ten Thousand Paces in Bowral (2016), and Hapenny Lane in Katoomba (2017); the Before I Die wall in Mittagong, Bowral, Moss Vale (2016), and the Blue Mountains Cultural Centre (2019); Leaving Love (2018-2019), as part of The Art of Giving at Retford Park in Bowral, Sculptures for Clyde (2019), and Sculptures at Killalea (2019); and Wisdom Weaving, which was featured at the Hillview Sculpture Biennial and Sculptures at Killalea in 2018. Non-participatory works include: Liminal Leaves at Retford Park in Bowral (2022); vinyl text installations at Mental (Scruples and Humanity Always) and The CORRIDOR Project (Scruples) (2020). She has authored three poetry collections: Lightning Shades, The Beguilings, and Luscious Glass Cage, all available through Ginninderra Press.
Jessica has enjoyed a range of residencies, including some writing time at Varuna, and as part of The CORRIDOR Project‘s residency program. In 2019 she was selected for a Testing Grounds residency @ Test Sites (Melbourne), and an Enter Text residency at Arteles (Finland). One of her great passion projects was The Soul Spectrum.