Press
WHYY
“Jaylene Clark Owens, who appears in the WHYY TV series 'Albie’s Elevator,' based her children’s book, “A Black Girl and her Braids,” on her viral 2021 poem with the same title. She called the yearly event 'incredible.'"​
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Read more here.
Baltimore Banner
“A Black Girl and Her Braids focuses not only on a young girl celebrating that fresh braid moment but other women and girls living in their fabulousness, unapologetically. Illustrator Brittney Bond’s images for the book are proud and vibrant. I’m both happy for and jealous of the kids who get to see themselves represented like this."​
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Read more here if you have a subscription to the Baltimore Banner. If not, read more here.
The Picture Book Buzz
“This beautiful opening spread, with its vibrant pinks and purples and excited adoration by the girl of her braids, is the perfect foil for Jaylene Clark Owens' poem. I love that the vernacular and voice were retained in the poem and lightly woven throughout the rest of the text."​
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Read more here.
Fox 5 - Good Day DC
Hype Hair Magazine
"We spoke with actor, poet, and author Jaylene Clark Owens about her new children’s book, A Black Girl and Her Braids, which began as a viral poem. It has since grown into a powerful celebration of Black girl joy, beauty, and cultural pride."​
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Read more here.
Blavity
"There’s nothing like a Black girl and her braids. Philadelphia-based actor, poet, and now author Jaylene Clark Owens’ new children’s book, A Black Girl and Her Braids, centers that magic."
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Read more here.
Face2Face Africa
"Jaylene Clark Owens, a Philadelphia-based actor and poet, has released her new children’s book, A Black Girl and Her Braids, published by Penguin Random House. The book is an extension of her poem with the same title, serving as a heartfelt tribute to Black girls and the special significance of their braided hairstyles."
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Read more here.
The Philadelphia Tribune
"Crowds flocked in droves to the Center City Barnes and Noble Sunday, selling out stock of one very special book. Attendees of all ages gathered to participate in a live reading and book signing led by Philly-based author Jaylene Clark Owens for her newest written sensation, A Black Girl and Her Braids."
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Read more here.
Fox 29 - Good Day Philadelphia
The CW PHL-17 - Positively Philly
The CW Pix 11 - New York Living
NBC 10 - Philadelphia
CBS Baltimore - WJZ
Metro Philadelphia
"As a spoken word poet, I’ve seen firsthand how powerful it is when art meets activism. The CROWN Act represents that intersection. This book is vibrant and a celebration, but it also pushes back against systems that try to tell Black girls their hair is a problem."
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Read more here.
Publisher's Weekly
"Based on spoken-word artist Owens’s viral poem of the same name, the text of this inspirational picture book foregrounds the versatility of braids as well as their cultural and personal significance."
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Read more here.
6 ABC
Publisher's Weekly
"Tyiana Combs at Penguin Workshop has bought world rights to A Black Girl and Her Braids, a picture book by Jaylene Clark Owens (l.), illustrated by Brittney Bond. "
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Read more here.
The Philadelphia Inquirer
"For National Poetry Month, we asked four local Philly poets to break down the fundamentals of poetry."
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Columbia Neighbors
"Standing on the shoulders of visionaries who shaped the Harlem Renaissance, Owens—the co-founder of the arts-centered collective Harlem KW Project—is using creative expression to speak truth to power. She spoke with Neighbors about her upbringing in Harlem, the inspiration behind her work, and how the arts can build community."
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Read more here.
Broad Street Review
"The family in question includes Melanye Finister and Lindsay Smiling’s harried homeowners Beverly and Dayton, Beverly’s sister Jasmine (Jaylene Clark Owens, taking a page from Jackée Harry’s sassy TV playbook), and overachieving daughter Keisha (Brett Ashley Robinson)."
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Read more here.
The New York Times
"The sure touch of the writing and especially of the performing mean that the comedy isn’t canceled by the intimations of tragedy. Instead, you laugh with a catch in your throat, and the whole thing evaporates before you can ask too much of it."
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Read more here.
The Philadelphia Inquirer
"Owens is the show’s cohering center. Her stint as a blabby lady on the subway is gut-busting, and her poem of praise to Harlem is a show-stopper. Oh, and she can dance just a little tiny bit."
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Read more here. You can read more articles about the 2020 production of Renaissance in the Belly of a Killer Whale at The Wilma Theater here and here.
WHYY
"“Renaissance in the Belly of a Killer Whale” is the play Owens — a Harlem native and longtime spoken word poet — co-wrote with Hollis Heath, Janelle Heatley, and Chyann Sapp to voice their feelings about the ways the neighborhood is changing."
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Read more here.
NFL Network
Jaylene had the opportunity to serve as the New York City Ambassador on the NFL Network show, Indivisible! This is a show hosted by Green Beret, and former NFL Player, Nate Boyer, that explores important social justice issues in different NFL cities. She talked about gentrification in her home of Harlem, which is one of her passions! She was even able to represent for Harlem KW Project and spit a poem from Renaissance in the Belly of a Killer Whale! You can tune in NOW by clicking here and viewing the "Exploring New York" episode!
WHYY
"The $15,000 F. Otto Haas Award for an emerging theater artist went to Jaylene Clark Owens, an actor and poet who is a member of Wilma Theatre’s resident HotHouse acting company and has appeared on several local stages. [Owens] is a Harlem native who now lives in Philadelphia."
​Read more here. You can read more articles about the 2019 Barrymore Awards here, here, here, and here.
DC Metro Theater Arts
"But the show really belongs to Jaylene Clark Owens, giving a masterful performance as Vanessa. Jumping in and out of reality and in and out of multiple personas, she shows off great vocal control and superb comic and dramatic skills. She is, as Vanessa says of herself at one point, 'a damn delight.'"​
Read more here.
NY Daily News
Some of the Harlem culture is being lost through gentrification,” said Jaylene Clark, 23, one of the actors and playwrights of “Renaissance in the Belly of a Killer Whale.”
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NY Daily News
"A Harlem poet, who is fighting to preserve the name of her beloved neighborhood, took first place at the Apollo Theater's Amateur Night for her original piece focused on the ongoing gentrification that has rattled the nerves of many long-time residents."
Read more here.
The Philadelphia Inquirer
"Struck by that metaphor of killer whale = gentrification, a former teacher asked Owens to create a theater piece around it. Owens contacted three close friends — actresses Hollis Heath and Janelle Heatley, and fellow writer Chyann Sapp — and, before long, the Harlem KW Project LLC was born."
Read more here.
ABC 7
Click here to view Jaylene's interview with Sandra Bookman on New York's ABC7 program, "Here and Now" about "Renaissance in the Belly of a Killer Whale."