Category: mental health
-
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…
-
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…
-
New Zealand Young Writers Festival
In September the New Zealand Young Writers Festival, held in Ōtepoti Dunedin, marked its 10th year. I was invited as a guest writer, on the other side of fifty, to participate in three panel discussions: Writing Grief with Ruby Macomber and Rushi Vyas, Te Ao Kāi Tahu with Tessa Patrick and Rauhina Scott-Fyfe, and How…
-
Deathwalker’s Guide to Life Podcast
Last weekend I had the pleasure of taking with Kerry Sunderland, on her show Deathwalker’s Guide to Life, about coexisting with suicide bereavement, grief, and the Elixir & Star Press 2023 Grief Almanac. Link below, if you’d like a listen. https://www.deathwalkersguidetolife.com/s3-ep05-grief-and-creativity
-
Rejections and openings
I’ve come to loathe the 17th each month, being the counter of moons that I am these days. 21 months last week since Reuben took his life, and despite meandering through the day fully aware of it, it wasn’t until I checked messages from him, in the weeks before he…
-
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,…
-
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…
-
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 