Yilin Wang, poet, writer, and editor talks #RacisminCanLit, Wuxia, and writing-life balance with Invisiblog guest editor, Shazia Hafiz Ramji. Shazia Hafiz Ramji: What are you working on right now? Yilin Wang: I’m currently writing a fantasy novel. It’s inspired by a Chinese fiction genre known as wuxia, which is commonly translated into “martial arts fiction”… Continue Reading Asking Many, Many Questions: An Interview with Yilin Wang
It’s May and the heat and rain shroud my body in a confused cloud. I’m cat-sitting this beautiful fluffy grey boy and I’m lounging in a big apartment in yet another gentrified Vancouver neighbourhood. Outside, glass condos glow pleasantly over the din of brewery beards, afternoon baby strollers, and barking dogs. Cat-sitting is an excellent… Continue Reading My Body Still Feels Like a Volcano: Jane Shi on Taking Ourselves Seriously
Amy LeBlanc, poet, writer, and editor talks monstrosity, fairy tales, and poetry with Invisiblog guest editor, Shazia Hafiz Ramji. Shazia Hafiz Ramji: How does it feel to have your poetry published in chapbook form? Amy LeBlanc: I’m always ecstatic when I see my work in print or online, but there’s something so nice about having… Continue Reading Monstrosity and Motherhood: An Interview with Amy LeBlanc
Jason Purcell, co-founder of Glass Bookshop talks poetry, life, and the texture of things with Invisiblog guest editor, Shazia Hafiz Ramji. Shazia Hafiz Ramji: Jason, how long did it take you to write A Place More Hospitable? Jason Purcell: These poems started during the writing of my MA thesis, in which was exploring similar themes:… Continue Reading To Live in the Texture of a Thing: An Interview with Jason Purcell, poet and co-founder of Glass Bookshop
Before I learned the ins and outs of the clusterfuck that is Canadian literature, I had to master the art of The MFA Voice™.1 Imagine uttering your lines through the back of a breathy fan. Augment the aesthetic with thick denim, bushy hair, ornate glasses, and a faux-knitted beanie—anything to further absorb any soundwaves escaping… Continue Reading The MFA Voice™ by Adrian De Leon
Overwhelmed by panic, I bolt out of bed. The covers are thrown to the side and even though moments earlier I was asleep, I stand at the foot of my bed, next to the dresser clutching my chest with my right hand. What made me panic? Was I dreaming about him again? My ex. My… Continue Reading On Memory, Memoir, and Ghosts by Megan Cole
Conyer Clayton talks trauma, grief, beasts, and poetry with Invisiblog guest editor, Shazia Hafiz Ramji. Shazia Hafiz Ramji: How did you arrive at the title, Trust Only the Beasts in the Water? Conyer Clayton: The title comes from a line in the poem “Related.” I wanted to capture the feeling that runs through this collection:… Continue Reading Beast Jaws Possess Power: An Interview with Conyer Clayton
Ten years ago, my life changed unexpectedly. I lost someone very close to me to depression and suicide. From the moment that I found out about their passing, a burden of pain settled upon me, larger than anything I had experienced before or since. In time, although not right away, I turned to writing, as… Continue Reading Writing Through Pain by Anita Kushwaha
Geoffrey Nilson, publisher of pagefiftyone – a brand new poetry micro-press dedicated to print culture – talks publishing, Internet vs. print, music, and chill, with Invisiblog guest editor, Shazia Hafiz Ramji Shazia Hafiz Ramji: Geoff, you’ve started a press. Tell us about it. Geoffrey Nilson: pagefiftyone is a poetry micro-press dedicated to print culture. The… Continue Reading Poems Find Their Way Out or They Don’t: An Interview with Geoffrey Nilson
Shazia Hafiz Ramji: How did you arrive at the title of your chapbook, Dear Kestrel? Khashayar Mohammadi: A few years ago, during a very rough time in my life, I started writing small prose-poems addressed to my dear friend Ke, whom this book is dedicated to. I started every piece with “Dear Kestrel,” and after… Continue Reading Be Your Own Favourite Poet: An Interview with Khashayar Mohammadi, author of Dear Kestrel