Jason Purcell writes about the slow and difficult rhythms of living with chronic illness and how those experiences shaped the poems in Crohnic (Arsenal Pulp Press), a meditation on what it means to live a medicalized life. Charting two years of their treatment for Crohn's disease, the collection moves between hospital rooms and the river valley outside their window, tracing the mix of pain and relief, stillness and change, that defines a life lived with ongoing care.| Alllitup.ca
Jen Winsor's Ship Moms (Breakwater Books) takes on a fascinating subject: true stories about the relationships between cruise ship crew members and the women who became pregnant while working at sea (Jen herself among them). In this feature, Jen reflects on how journaling helped her find her voice, ultimately leading to Ship Moms, and to confronting the imposter syndrome that surfaced while writing it.| Alllitup.ca
Bradley Somer, author of the queer coming-of-age novel We Are All of Us Left Behind (Freehand Books), reflects on the making of his book and the representation of queer life in literature. Drawing on the Vito Russo Test, he considers how his novel resists reducing characters to their sexuality, instead presenting a story where queerness is part of life rather than its defining plot device.| Alllitup.ca