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The Thing with Feathers
The Thing With Feathers by Jessica Outram
A collection of poetry available to purchase from the publisher or on Amazon.
Books are also available from Let’s Talk Books in Cobourg and Caversham Booksellers in Toronto.
“Hope” is the thing with feathers –
That perches in the soul –Emily Dickinson
This is a story of becoming whole by reassembling broken pieces of self, holding onto hope in the darkest moments, and seeing everything in a new light.
The Thing With Feathers takes you on an intimate journey of truth, transformation, and healing of spirit. From cherry blossom tree trunks to the shores of Georgian Bay, these poems evoke reverence, recalling past lives and ancestral Metis blood memory passed down from grandmothers.
~ Sarah Lewis, Poet Laureate, Peterborough ONPoetry that’s both affective and effective in recognizing the power of expression as a means of revealing the human spirit. There is clarity of language in these poems, and in that clarity the reader finds what it means to feel alive.
~ Antony Di Nardo, PoetClick here to read Anthony Di Nardo’s full-length review of The Thing with Feathers.
Here are poems that “show a way to build belonging.” With clarity and sharp imagery, Outram’s poetry aches with the will to transform. They swirl “beyond the whirlpool of rules” “because it’s all possible.” Slowly, a new self emerges by “breaking down threads / pulled by uncertainty.” Through the deliberate act of seeing, facing, and confronting, a knowing, more integrated self comes to light. A fresh, vivid and heartfelt debut.
—Catherine Graham, Poet, Aether: An Out-of-Body Lyric and The Celery ForestClick here to read Kate Rogers’ review of The Thing with Feathers.
April 16th 2022 Launch: Art Gallery of Northumberland 
April 16th, 2022 Launch: Art Gallery of Northumberland -
The Story of Water
We continue the tradition for a third year of publishing an eChapbook to celebrate Earth Day. First, we published Light in My Eyes in 2020. Then we published Lessons from the Earth in 2021.
Water is life. This year for our Earth Day eChapbook, I wanted to invite poets to reflect on the story of water. Poetry helps us to see in different ways. As you read this collection, consider the story of water in your life. How can we protect it? Respect it? What does water have to teach us?
I’m overwhelmed by the number of poems and the diversity of stories. As you read through this collection, pay attention to the ways water changes form, its relationship to people and other elements in nature, and how it travels.
Find a quiet spot, maybe even outside, by the water to read a poem or two as a gift for the water. Let us thank the water for all it has given us.
With this project, we also celebrate National Poetry Month.
“In one drop of water are found all the secrets of all the oceans.” — Kahlil Gibran
The eChapbook was sent out via the Poetry Present subscriber list on Earth Day, Friday April 22, 2022. -
Poetry Invites December
Inspired By Celebration in Northumberland
How do you celebrate?
Write a poem for Cobourg Present, our evolving eChapbook.
This month you are invited to write a poem about celebration. What does celebration mean to you? How do you celebrate? When? For many, December is a month with opportunities for friends and families to connect or gather. Write about a holiday, a meal, or a party. Write about the people you love and the places you love. We can celebrate alone too. What does that look like for you? Write about the past, today, or the future. Go wherever this prompt leads you.
This month our poetry collects stories of the spirit of celebration.
This is the last month of this project.
You are also welcome to revisit a prompt from an earlier month and submit a poem at any time. Click here to see the archive of prompts.
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Pop-Up Art and Book Sale
November 27th Jennifer Anne Burke and I are hosting a Pop-Up Art and Book Sale.
To learn more about Jennifer’s work, click here. Here are some of my offerings!
Georgian Bay Art Cards
$5.00 each or 5 for $20.00 (plus HST)
Card #1 
Card #2 
Card #3 
Card #4 
Card #5 
Card #6 
Card #7 
Card #8 
Card #9 
Card #10
Sunsets in Britt: A Georgian Bay Tradition
$55 plus HST. Click here to read more about the book.
Books: $15 (plus HST)
Framed Georgian Bay Photographs
$50 (plus HST) each. $75 (plus HST) for the large ones.
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Poetry Invites November
Inspired By Today in Northumberland
What is happening for you today?
Write a poem for Cobourg Present, our evolving eChapbook.
This month you are invited to write a poem about this moment, right now, today. What do you see? What are you doing? What are you thinking about? If you could capture today in a poem what would you include? In years from now if you looked back to November 2021, what do you want to remember? This is a poem about presence and about time. What is important about this time? What is the story of today?
This month our poetry collects stories of the spirit of a time.
We have two months left in this project. One possibility when it is done is to create a print anthology. What are your thoughts? Would you like to see this collection in print one day?
You are also welcome to revisit a prompt from an earlier month and submit a poem at any time. Click here to see the archive of prompts.
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Sunsets in Britt: A Georgian Bay Tradition
Jessica Outram is a Métis writer and educator with roots in the Georgian Bay Métis Community. She is the 4th Poet Laureate of Cobourg, Ontario. For decades she has captured Georgian Bay summer sunsets with her camera. This project is for family and friends who share her love of sunsets. Anyone is welcome to purchase a book.
- Primary Category: Arts & Photography Books
- Project Option: Standard Landscape, 10×8 in, 25×20 cm
# of Pages: 24 - ISBN
- Hardcover, Dust Jacket: 9781006416453
- Published by Sunshine in a Jar Press
- Using a print on demand service: Blurb. Since hundreds of copies were not printed, the cost per book is higher than hoped.
- Limited Edition.
- $55.00 plus tax and delivery
If you know Jessica or live nearby, you can also purchase books directly from Jessica to avoid shipping costs (paying by cash or etransfer: $55 plus GST/HST $7.15 = $62.15).
Sunsets in Britt is also available at Let’s Talk Books in Cobourg.
To order online now with delivery click here.
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Poetry Invites October
Inspired By Home in Northumberland
What does the word ‘home’ mean to you?
Write a poem for Cobourg Present, our evolving eChapbook.
This month you are invited to write a poem about home. How could you capture the spirit of home in a poem? What was your home like as a child? Or, what will it be like in the future? What do you love most about being at home? What is most challenging about being at home? Write about a memory of home. Write about a room. Write about your yard. Go wherever the idea of home takes you.
This month our poetry collects stories of the spirit of a place—not just the community but within our individual places.
We have three months left in this project. One possibility when it is done is to create a print anthology. What are your thoughts? Would you like to see this collection in print one day?
You are also welcome to revisit a prompt from an earlier month and submit a poem at any time. Click here to see the archive of prompts.
