Interview by Molly Cross-Blanchard, questions by Kyla Jamieson Samantha is a Cree/Métis writer and poet from Northeastern BC. Her family originally comes from Ile-a-la-Crosse (Sakitawak), Saskatchewan. She has been published in Red Rising Magazine, Shameless Magazine, SAD Mag, GUTs Magazine, and others....
Interview by Kyla Jamieson
Emerging writer Marc Perez’s story “Dog Food” appears in our “BAD” issue. Of his story, Perez says, “I once had a dog, and I named her Bruce. The story is a lament for her.” For this issue, we sought work that took us to true places along difficult or unexpected paths; “Dog Food” is one such story. In it, a boy witnesses violence he’s helpless against, and is denied understanding in the aftermath. His pain is real, but nobody sees or acknowledges it; where can it go but forwards, into his future?
Marc Perez immigrated to Canada from the Philippines and now lives on the unceded territories of the Musqueam, Squamish, and Tsleil-Waututh First Nations. Perez has been working in the nonprofit industry for the past five years; in addition to this work he is currently participating in Writing Lives, a project in which writers collaborate with Holocaust survivors to write their memoirs. Read on for Perez’s thoughts on identity and home, privilege and marginalization, and the best time to write—while asleep and dreaming.
Interview by Matthew Kok
Beni Xiao is a nanny and writer based in Vancouver, BC. They are tired all the time, so they would appreciate if you’d let them sleep. Bad Egg, Beni’s new chapbook, is full of quiet, important things. There is a garden of variety in these poems, and the chapbook is drawn together by the strength of Beni’s voice. The effect is a lot like having a small bug perched in your ear, joking, encouraging, asking. They are willing to go with you into storms. They will not lie and tell you your impact on the world is going to be anything other than what it is. They will tell you about the hard, strong thing we all need to be sometimes, and as they describe it you may believe it is you—it may depend on the day, or whose limbs you’ve found crossed over your own, but the bug will say it for you if you can’t. There is a whole world of people who will speak around the important things rather than to them, or ignore the strange and the wonderful, but none of them are in this chapbook. You should start listening to Beni Xiao—I promise it will be worth it.
Chelene Knight’s debut poetry collection, Braided Skin, was celebrated as a vibrant telling of mixed ethnicity and urban childhood poverty. Her sophomore book Dear Current Occupant, a creative nonfiction memoir, is a nuanced account of growing up in Vancouver’s Downtown...
Interview by Kyla Jamieson
Anita Cheung is a Vancouver-based entrepreneur and creative who recently launched one of our new favourite websites, whereareyoureallyfrom.org (WAYRF), which features the portraits of twenty-one women of colour alongside interview clips and insights. The project evolved from Cheung’s personal investigation into what it means to be a woman of colour, particularly in our current political climate. “We are just as diverse and complex as our white counterparts,” Cheung says, and she wanted to hear “how others saw and experienced their own coloured-ness.”
Interview by Kyla Jamieson Andrea Gibson is a highly quotable and influential poet at the forefront of the spoken-word movement who has headlined prestigious performance venues across the United States and abroad. Born in Calais, Maine, Gibson now resides...
Interview by Matthew Walsh
Over last summer, during Toronto Pride season, I got to have a conversation over Twitter with poet and lawyer Marcus McCann about his new collection of poetry, Shut Up Slow Down Let Go Breathe published with Invisible Publishing. McCann’s collection focuses on gay relationships, dating, homophobia, but it doesn’t stop there, moving from very serious material to tender and funny anecdotes about dating and acceptance of one’s identity. We got to talk about the poetry scene in Toronto, the Naked Heart reading series, and Glad Day Bookstore and Café, where Marcus is part-owner.
Continue reading Shut Up Slow Down Let Go Breathe: An Interview with Marcus McCann
Interview by Jessica Johns
Hello, friends. Meet Adebe DeRango-Adem, a doctoral candidate in English at the University of Pennsylvania and author of two full-length poetry collections: Ex Nihilo, nominated for the prestigious Dylan Thomas Prize and Terra Incognita, which was a finalist for the 2015 Pat Lowther award. Her newest poetry collection is forthcoming from Mansfield Press. After reading Selina Boan’s Get to Know with Liz Howard, Adebe reached out and introduced herself. After reading some of her work online (her WordPress site is astounding), I asked if she’d like to be a part of the series.
Looking to prepare for your interview or brush up on some do’s and don’ts when interviewing? PRISM editorial assistant, Derrick Gravener, interviews poetry editor, Shazia Hafiz Ramji, to chat about the interview process. Shazia has interviewed authors such as André Alexis, Jonina Kirton, Thalia Field, and Jay Gamble, and shares steps for starting interviews as well as tried-and-true pro-tips.