Collection
When I was little I had an amusing
game of cataloguing ways to die.
Some were boring, run-of-the-mill suicides,
like hanging, drowning, etc. Some stemmed
from ancient torture practices, like being
sat naked on a bamboo shoot and
dead within a day because of the plant’s
incredible growth rate. Ripped apart
by horses, one’s arms and legs tied to
four of them respectively. Or an icicle
dripping on the top of one’s head
until they go mad, and then piercing
them through as it thaws and detaches.
One of the scariest ways for me was
from an article I read, not about torture
or suicide, but an accident. A needle
was once lost in a patient’s bloodstream.
It eventually pierced his heart. I would
imagine this for hours. It would always
be a sewing needle my mom used to
mend my socks. It would have a very
small eye. A slender silver float coursing
through blue rivers intricate as dreams,
until it stops at the heart.
Anya Douglas was born Anna Moussienko. Originally from Riga, Latvia, she immigrated to Toronto in 1996. Anya has two degrees from York University, and is a languages teacher. She is also a musician and a vocalist. Anya was an editor for
existere in 2004 and 2005. She is involved in translation, concentrating on select 20th century Russian poets. Anya was selected to participate in Diaspora Dialogues Mentorship program with Michael Redhill as her mentor in 2007. Her work featured in such journals as
Reluctant Hero,
CV2, and
Misunderstandings magazine. Her poetry in Russian was published in three Russian cultural magazines/newspapers in Toronto. Anya’s first chapbook was published by The Emergency Response Unit in 2008. Her feature readings include Plasticine Poetry and the Art Bar reading series. Anya’s first full-length poetry collection
Absences has recently been completed, and selected for Diaspora Dialogues Mentorship program with Olive Senior as her mentor.
