Jean Gallagher's first book of poems, This Minute, received the Poets Out Loud Prize and was published by Fordham University Press. Her second book, Stubborn, was selected from over 450 entries as the ninth winner of the annual FIELD Poetry Prize. David Young, one of the judges, had this to say about it: "In Stubborn Jean Gallagher teaches us new ways of seeing--medieval paintings, for instance--and new ways of thinking: about the infinite, about holiness and terror and vision and loss. She does this with a kind of casual precision, a musical and imaginative daring that is both breathtaking and yet somehow matter-of-fact. As if taking the tops of our heads off or throwing open sudden doorways to timelessness were the most natural activity in the world. Her command of her art is remarkable, and readers will not want to put down this book once they have started to encounter it. It shines with power and crackles with excitement."
