Jamal Chandler excels at combining old world erudition with new school sensibilities, crafting poetry both classical in tone and modern in gait. ELEGY is no exception, and we've selected it to feature from among his three poems recently published on The Blasted Tree for it's skillful use of narrative and a special attention to the intersection of auditory and visual elements. Check out Chandler's concrete poem ELEGY, and be sure to follow us online for more great content coming soon!
Featured Author - Dana Neily
Hailing from beautiful Victoria, Dana Neily is the newest author on The Blasted Tree's growing line-up of emerging Canadian talent. Neily uses her writing as a means of drawing attention to mental illness and neuroatypical experiences, advocating for compassion and understanding in regards to mental health. ONE DAY'S BATTLE, published in our Short(er) Fiction series, speaks directly to these issues, illuminating the daily struggle between the protagonist and a surreal manifestation of Death. Additionally, we are please to bring you two of Neily's poems, AN ESCAPIST'S FANTASY and the comically titled AIM FOR AN 'OCEAN'S 11' RATHER THAN A 'RESERVOIR DOGS' BUT EITHER WAY WE WILL LOOK KILLER IN SUITS. Read her work online, then check out her bio using the link below!
VIEW DANA'S PROFILE
Adrien Smart - Interview and Exclusive Video
The Blasted Tree sat down with author and filmmaker Adrien Smart to talk life, loss, and the making of art. He's a multi-talented UVic student with an impressive array of compositional talents, from writing screenplays and short stories, to performing spoken word poetry and videography. Adrien incorporates his wide range of interests and passions into his craft, and while poetry may be the newest trick in his repertoire, he's clearly a natural. See for yourself in the exclusive video poem he's created for The Blasted Tree, WHITE KNUCKLES/RED TABLECLOTH, catch some of his wisdom on becoming a poet in the interview, and watch a few of his other creations using the link below.
WHITE KNUCKLES/RED TABLECLOTH + INTERVIEW
Featured Poetry - Demon Hickeys by Mia Poirier
Weaving elements of humor, bitterness, and earnest personal history, Demon Hickeys is Sappho meets Punky Brewster, or a window into the complications and tribulations of growing up and discovering one’s sexuality. Mia Poirier inserts herself unflinchingly into the LGBT literary community with this, her first poetry collection with The Blasted Tree. Inscribing her heart on the page, Poirier touches nimbly upon relationships, family, illness, coffee shops, and city life, illuminating the challenges of youth along the way. Her collection is available online and can be purchased from The Blasted Tree Store.
READ DEMON HICKEYS
Featured Poetry - Chewing Around the Rind by Kaitlyn Perrin
The first of several new titles in our spring chapbook lineup, Chewing Around the Rind as a collection is both funny and thoughtful, concise and casual. These are poems rescued from an ivory tower and restored to their proper home, scrawled across a cocktail napkin. Reminiscent of a conversation over drinks, or perhaps around a campfire, Kaitlyn Perrin proves that the best kind of verse is often the most accessible. The collection can be read online using the link below and is now available for purchase from The Blasted Tree Store.
READ CHEWING AROUND THE RIND
Featured Poetry - Everything All At Once by Laura Rojas
A collection universal in scope, yet deeply personal in execution, Everything All At Once by Laura Rojas traces the connection between all things, like "pieces of red yarn / woven through molecular spaces" linking all times and all places. Her recurring symbolic imagery unfolds into layered significance, building an energetic and heartfelt worldview at once uniquely her own while accessible to everyone. You can find your connection with Everything All At Once online, then get a high quality chapbook of your own from The Blasted Tree Store.
READ EVERYTHING ALL AT ONCE
Featured Poetry - These Are Fragments by Laura Dyer
The various pieces brought together in this Featured Poetry collection form a vision of love for people, places, and cultures. Laura Dyer breaks romantic content into modern, exploratory forms, playing with ideas of alteration over time as someone or something becomes a memory. What we remember in matters of the heart is often half-honest, yet somewhere in these memories lie fragments of truth. These poems are Dyer's fragments. These Are Fragments is available online and in print from The Blasted Tree Store.
READ THESE ARE FRAGMENTS
Featured Poem - Anachronism by Kaitlyn Perrin
Kaitlyn Perrin may be the newest contributing author at The Blasted Tree, yet her work already possesses the thoughtfulness of a seasoned poet. In anticipation of Kaitlyn's reading for our Launch Party this coming Thursday, we are proud to present "Anachronism" as this week's feature poem, a unique look at those things which don't belong and yet somehow manage to stick around.
READ ANACHRONISM
If you enjoy Kaitlyn's work (we know you will!), catch her performance this Thursday at Burritoville. More information about The Blasted Tree Launch Party can be found HERE.
Featured Poem - Conversation After Dinner... by Gavin Lytton
"Conversation After Dinner While I Do the Dishes (I Never Do the Dishes)" works with the juxtaposition of perspectives to open a window in a tense relationship. Lytton employs short, punctual lines to deliver a scene both claustrophobic and emotionally distant at the same time. Here is a tension many have experienced over a sink full of dishes - Lytton makes us wonder: "What constitutes broken?"
READ CONVERSATION AFTER DINNER...
Grand Opening, New Poetry & More
Today is the Grand Opening of The Blasted Tree Store! Chapbooks are in from the printers and are available for purchase online. There are a limited number of first print books, so order now to secure a copy. Each chapbook is $5.00 + shipping, proceeds go to support the next generation of great Canadian authors and this independent press.
VISIT THE STORE
Not only is the store finally open, but Dorito Hangover, a collection of poetry by Kyle Flemmer, has been posted online and is available for purchase. Dorito Hangover is a collection of first poems composed throughout the last couple years, many of which have never before appeared in print. We are very excited to bring you fresh content from Canada's up-and-comers, stay tuned for new work, news, and contributors at The Blasted Tree!