oil

Oil People!

I’m very pleased to have my latest story, “Oil People,” appear in the most recent issue of Maisonneuve. This story is a revamp of the standard run-of-the-mill oil museum, Chernobyl babies, mutants, and juvenile sexuality tale. Thanks to Madi Haslam for her keen editorial ear and eye, and to Franziska Barzyk for furnishing the story with a beautiful illustration. This story is particularly close to my heart because it’s the impetus for a novel-in-progress. The story is available free for a limited time on the Maisonneuve website. If you happen to read it, and want to share some feedback, I’d love to hear from you.

Poem Shortlisted for Walrus Poetry Prize

What a thrill! My poem, “Colloquium: J.T. Henry and Lady Simcoe on Early Ontario Petrocolonialism”, has been named to the shortlist of the 2016 Walrus Poetry Prize. If you go to The Walrus, you can vote for the reader’s choice award. “Colloquium” is a found erasure dialogue composed using fragments of two public domain texts. The poem arose from my current research into the history of oil in Ontario, research I’m doing for a future fiction project on this fascinating and little-known legacy. (The first commercial oil well in North America was tapped by James Miller Williams in 1858–who knew). I’ve been drunk on oil lately, and I’m happy that dark intoxication has burned into a poem I’m proud of.