• The Quiet Glow of January: Finding light in the stillness of winter

    I want to love January, but for the bulk of my years, I fell in love with the idea of it – not its truths. If you’re like me, you’ve spent much of your life viewing January as the magical month of possibilities and clinging to the mantra of “New Year, New You”. In the…

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  • This Place I Call Home

    This Place I Call Home

    My name is Jess and I publish poetry as J.L. Fizzell – a pen name I picked out when I was nine or so to honour female writers like L.M. Montgomery during eras where women were barred or discouraged from writing or forced to conceal their gender by using their initials. My poetry is inspired…

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  • The Power of Poetry

    The Power of Poetry

    I’m having a hard time wrapping my head around the fact that I published by first book, exactly four years and one month ago. It seems like yesterday, and at the same time, a lifetime ago. With four years having past since the year I wrote and published three poetry books in a year (yeah,…

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  • Celebrating International Women’s Day

    Canada and International Women’s Day Women’s rights look different all over the world. I am blessed to live in Canada. While we still have a lot of work to do here (and have a dark side when it comes to the historical treatment of women), I acknowledge and value the fact that I am blessed…

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  • How to Haiku

    How to Haiku

    As you may already know, my favourite style of poetry is free verse. I’ve never been very good at following rules, so naturally as a writer I drifted towards a style that allowed me the creative freedom I needed to express myself. With that being said, I do try and push myself to write other…

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