it was never going to be okay

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The speaker feels that others only accept their flaws once they’ve softened into something malleable, easier to control.

Decades ago, I enrolled in a course on instructional leadership that was offered at work to anyone interested in joining the agency’s roster of in-house instructors. When you are a little kid, nobody tells you that getting the degrees and the jobs does not warranty you the feeling of growth and final satisfaction that you think you are aiming for. One of my favourite aspects of it was never going to be okay was simpson’s references to pop culture.

it was never going to be okay is a collection of poetry and prose exploring the intimacies of understanding intergenerational trauma, Indigeneity and queerness, while addressing urban Indigenous diaspora and breaking down the limitations of sexual understanding as a trans woman. As seen in the poem “00088614,” simpson repeats the numbers over and over again to address the trauma of just being a number. simpson uses these different weapons to discuss the pain of intergenerational trauma, racism, and transphobia. The systemic issues of the foster-care system carry into and intersect with many other poems, such as “boy.

The care and craft that went into writing the poems, and then publishing, makes for a strong, powerful read. According to Medcalf, Hermès – billed as the lowest performer – received their rating because they “use the largest array of animal products in our entire sample of 111 brands” and for “their use of products made from wildlife who have been farmed”. Resilience and resistance against a vicious and oppressive system drip through every line of this powerful piece. They refer to this constant state of burial as “hanging their queer bodies / like a slaughtered coyote on a post / as to say, do not come around here no more. At the level of craft, simpson makes use of the codes of tragedy, polemic, autobiography and the lyric artfully and powerfully.We’re also committed to making sure our personal issues don’t impact our clients negatively, so we try to use the tools we have learned to cope with our stuff and seek supervision to make sure we’re doing the best we can for our clients.

simpson has recently been named the Vancouver Champion for the Women of the World Poetry Slam and their work has been featured in Poetry Is Dead, This Magazine, PRISM international, SAD Mag, GUTS Magazine and Room. After the news reports that week I felt I should take something from the display - I'm working my way through Richard Wagamese's books but wasn't sure how much farther I wanted to go - so I grabbed this one. This poem manages to tell an entire story in a few pages and uses visceral images that evoke emotion. She says, “these animals are inherently difficult to farm in such a way that you can ensure a good level of animal welfare”.

simpson's collection bears both the pointed clarity of reflection and the present-tense weight of emotion. Report and Support is an online tool for staff, students and visitors to report issues of harassment, bullying, sexual misconduct, hate crimes and other problematic behaviours. The final section of the collection offers healing, as if the pages of the book are exploring therapy along with the speaker. However, she states that Four Paws intend to publish all brand scores in the next report, and the scoring will be updated over time on Good On You’s platform.