I encounted Jillian Christmas at the Play Chthonics poetry reading series, at UBC’s Green College, a bit of a while ago. She was performing, along with fellow slam poet Chris Gilpin, the kind of poetry that creates audience– pulls you in, makes you close your eyes, makes you part of her sound. &, though her audience was small, we were captivated. I needed to hear more. It would be best for you, probably, to listen to the audio of the performance, we’d be on the same wavelength, that way.
Sad Mag: Who are you?
Jillian Christmas: My name is Jillian Frances Yanika Christmas. I am a poet. I am a workshop facilitator for Wordplay Poetry in Schools. I am the Artistic Director of Verses Festival of Words. I am Aunty to several small adults. I like to think that I am an adventurer. As far as I know, I am the undisputed double thumb-war champion of the world, but that is a long story.
SM: When/how did you decide that poetizing was your vocation?
JC: I knew that I was a poet at about 12. I was lucky to have allot of wonderful people who encouraged me to write throughout my life. But it wasn’t until I was about 24 that I ever considered that I would be a performer. The stage was not a natural choice for me, but it was so exciting that I had to be a part of the action. Once I fell in love with it, I wanted to share that feeling with younger poets.
SM: Why Vancouver? How would you describe the literary scene here (so far)?
JC: I love the scene here, it is one of the major reasons I chose to move to Vancouver. From my house in Ontario, I would watch poets like RC Weslowski, and C.R. Avery, Lucia Misch, and The Fugitives on youtube. I couldn’t help but have an immense amount of respect for the work they were and continue to be doing. It is out of the box, thoughtful, quirky real and inspiring. It made me want to write, it makes me want to keep writing. Also, mountains. I think every poet should have their own set of mountains.
SM: What is your proudest moment as a poet?
JC: Having my mother tell me that she trusts me enough to let me tell her story on stage. That was big.
SM: We hear you’ve got a penchant for dirty haikus. Care to explain?
JC:
The filth in my-Ku
Lies not in the words, But the
mind of the reader
SM: Best thing you’ve heard/read lately?
JC: Leah Noble Davidson’s Poetic Scientifica. It aptly fleshes out the remarkable and necessary intersection between the logical and emotional mind of the artist. It’s like holding a prism up to the light and watching all the notes of Clair de lune tumble out. Illuminating.
SM: Wordsworth, in the 1802 Preface, says that he chose for his poems “incidents and situations from common life, and..[would] describe them, throughout, as far as was possible, in a selection of language really used by men; and, at the same time, to throw over them a certain colouring of imagination, whereby ordinary things should be presented to the mind in an unusual way.” I feel like there’s a similarity here to slam poetry, in spirit if not in form. Do you see yourself mixing these elements in your poetry?
JC: I do try to mix these elements in my poetry, as well as I can. It is important to me that the language that I use in my performance be accessible to people of many walks of life. I want to reach a wide audience, so I often try to explore universal topics, while inviting the reader into the hopefully interesting workings of my own mind and placing the poetry in the context of my own experience. I think there are stunning connections all around us, in the abstract, as well as in the tangible things we sense every day. I believe it is my job to find those connections, and hold them up to the light.
SM: Where are you as you answer these questions?
JC: Sitting in my apartment looking out at the fog that is swallowing the city. Nestled pretty cozily beside three of my favourite men, two of whom are cats.
SM: Favourite Vancouver person place or thing?
JC: This is the part of the interview where I should probably come clean about my Commercial Drive waffle addiction. But since I am in recovery, I will offer something else instead. Lately, I’ve been loving the song of the fog horns, they make for a delightful lullaby. It is even better than counting sheep… or waffles. Do not count the waffles.
SM: What are you excited about right now?
JC: The thing I am most excited about is the upcoming Verses Festival of Words. Managing Director, Chris Gilpin, and I are in the thick of programming for this year’s Verses festival and I cannot give away too many details yet, but we are very excited about the caliber of show that will be happening in Vancouver this coming April 5th-12th. One thing I will say is that we will be having the incredibly talented Ivan Coyote back for a second year, and this time Ivan will be performing with the incomparable Rae Spoon. It takes a lot of restraint for me to not turn into a fan girl while I type that. It is going to be spectacular! Look for more show updates as they turn up on the Verses website.