Tag: mental health
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The dichotomies of grief
This year’s theme for World Suicide Prevention Day was “changing the narrative around suicide”. How can we do this, when there’s no way to sugarcoat suicide bereavement? It’s not a thing you survive; this kind of grief accompanies you for life. I’ve attempted to challenge “the narrative around suicide” by…
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A Counter of Moons interview and a new poem
Heartfelt thanks to Robin Barratt at Poetry for Mental Health (UK) https://www.poetryformentalhealth.org/interview-with-iona-winter In this interview I speak about mental health and my journey with it, including the body of work I’ve done since Reuben took his life. Alongside this, Robin has also published a new poem The sound of raupō…
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Australian Poetry Journal
Back in April, I had the privilege of performing alongside a powerful line up of Indigenous poets, including Ellen van Neerven, at the 2024 Newcastle Writers Festival. Ellen got in touch with me afterwards and commissioned a poem for APJ 13.2, which they were curating as Guest Editor on the…
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Invisibility
Someone I love dearly suffers (at times) from severe mental health issues. They are often rendered invisible, due to keeping a brave face on. I wish they didn’t have to do that, because then people think they’re ok all the time. Sure sometimes they are ok, achieving the most wonderful things,…
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Assumptions and Reflections
Often I hear people say, “I know everything about her (or him).” How is that even possible? As humans, we assume a lot about each other, loosely based on the small percentages we actually know about. But all we’re doing is assuming—aka hypothesising, surmising, guessing, or simply making things up. I can’t…
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Ode to You
I remember you, when you were young. Your rounded face was full of tenderness and wonder. I can still hear your laughter, a deep chuckle far beyond your years. You knew things we didn’t. But now, an enraged beast resides, hacking away, just beneath the surface, of your beautiful…
Iona Winter 