Poems, stories evoke heartfelt emotion in mix of literature and visuals

Four Western Canadian women writers open their hearts in a new collection of poems and stories called À cœur ouvert: Quatre voix au féminin de l’Ouest Canadien.

In her poems, University of Alberta professor and Edmonton resident Marie Carrière looks at relationships between people, putting emotions, moments, and experiences into words. 

She dedicates what she calls her “poems of presence and absence” to her two girls and her mother.

“For me, literary writing is a vector of thoughts, emotions, and imaginings. It carries pain and also joy. I would say my style is minimalist, subtle, and condensed in order for the reader to absorb the words, the rhythm, and the sound, to find their own meaning and derive an image or a feeling,” says Carrière.

“I write because I believe that literature, most notably poetry, can say, perceive, better understand, and divulge things like absence, mourning, desire, subjectivity, and paradox in a different way than ordinary or common language.”

Saskatchewan visual artist and Regina resident Sharon Pulvermacher shares a tale called “La soupe de trois jours” (“The Three-Day Soup”). 

The story is about life, death, and the ancestors who can help others to live a kinotic love, a love that allows them to give themselves entirely to others.

She also illustrated the book, and her story was inspired by her work.

“Being a death doula has fuelled conversations considered taboo in the dominant culture: conversations around aging, purpose, cycles of life/death/life, and interdependence,” says Pulvermacher. 

“Writing my story has opened a doorway to having those conversations.”

In her mix of poetry and prose, British Columbia resident Frédérique Roussel writes to share what she feels in her heart in a given moment.

“Writing the stories for this collection has been a way for me to alleviate my own personal drama and open myself up to infinite possibilities, changing my perception of others and my own reality,” says Roussel.

Mychèle Fortin, who lives in Saskatchewan, shares experiences from her many travels. 

She also recalls stories of her childhood and memories of her family in Quebec.

“Travel fuels my writing because it has been a very important part of my life. But sometimes, a ride in a metro station in Montreal can leave an impression as vivid as a walk in a godforsaken village in El Salvador,” says Fortin.

Like the work of the other three writers, Fortin’s work evokes heartfelt emotion.

“I’ve never thought about what a reader would gain from reading my stories,” she says. 

“Maybe feel a bit of what I felt.”