Carol Harvey Steski : part one

Carol Harvey Steski’s debut poetry collection is rump + flank (NeWest Press, 2021). Her poems have appeared in Another Dysfunctional Cancer Poem Anthology and literary magazines including The Temz Review, CAROUSEL, FreeFall, Room, untethered, Prairie Fire and Contemporary Verse 2. She won the 2019 FreeFall annual contest and was nominated for The Pushcart Prize. Her work was also featured in Winnipeg Transit’s Poetry in Motion initiative. She grew up in Treaty 1 Territory (Winnipeg) and now lives in Tkaronto (Toronto), working in corporate communications. Find out more at: carolharveysteski.com and connect with her on Twitter: @charveysteski and Instagram: @carolharveysteski.

Photo credit: Anil Mungal

How did you first engage with poetry?

In post-secondary creative writing class in the early 90s, our instructor was the incredible poet, Patrick Friesen. He opened my eyes to brilliant contemporary Canadian poets, many women, writing about whatever the hell they wanted. Just as my mind was opening to this dazzling, rich new world, I was diagnosed with melanoma and the terrifying prospect of death and disfigurement. I viewed this timing as a gift from the universe and began writing poetry to help process the trauma I was experiencing. Worlds colliding, but in a super-productive way.