a story about furniture
Halifax from across the water My first week in my apartment, I didn’t have any pillows. Pillowcases, sure; bedding more generally, yes; but my bed, which I...
leaving on a jet plane
a cool skeleton I saw, and also an image of me right now The first airport goodbye I remember is the one I said to my parents, right before I flew to America...
waystations
local man avoids mosquito bites, celebrates with can of Long Drink YHZ - YYZ I associate flying into Toronto with fear. The first time I ever did it, in...
these are the things that kill me
I am going to take it as read that you have missed the news. Not the news about the Queen, of course. Nobody has missed the news about the Queen. I am...
marriage simulator 2022
California as a biome is unrecognisable to me. Even that feels like a grotesque generalisation; there’s so much California, a parenthesis encircling half of...
crying! at the pride parade
Halifax holds its Pride festival in July, rather than June. For those of you not in the know (shout out to all my cisgender heterosexuals! I know you’re out...
true patriot love, or something
It’s baby’s first Canada Day. Did you know when Canada Day was? Prior to arrival, I absolutely did not; I had to look it up when I saw it mentioned in the...
putting my queer shoulder to the wheel
Today, Isaac filed the first tranche of documentation required for my visa application. this has nothing to do with visa paperwork; this is just the view...
someone to crowd you with love
You’re waiting by the baggage carousel, a day late. Your hands are shaking when you try to hold your phone, so you don’t; you shove that fucker deep into...
extremely barenaked ladies voice
Congratulations to me: I have been in Canada for one whole week, and I have managed to get sunburned. I was promised rain, goddamn it I think it’s going...
the world and not the world
It’s official, gang: they let me in to Canada. The immigration guy looked through my tragic litany of entry permit extension letters and said ‘boy, the...
if it could only be like this always
I left Oxford today. the view from my first room here. I don’t want to write as frequently as this. It’s been less than a week since I last wrote one of...
the shipping box, by annie proulx
I wonder if mild embarrassment with the language of identity is a common sign of ageing. This is me signalling to you that I hate that I’m about to open a...
haligoing, haligone
In three weeks’ time I will no longer live in England. This was an abstract concept until about a day ago, at which point I booked my move-out clean and put...
an elegy
Please be aware that this essay contains discussion of death, homophobia, and suicidal ideation. Take what steps you need to protect yourself. I was not sure...
(write it!) like disaster
The first thing I missed was the hand towel in the office bathroom.I have never liked disposable paper towels. It’s a sensory thing, I think. In the bathroom...
compromise
On Monday evening last week, I went to get my hair cut. I had a phone call from the hairdresser at the weekend, promising me that every precaution was being...
one two three
Restrictions started to lift, and I got a little crazy. That’s the short version of the story. Here’s the longer version, with my heartfelt apologies for...
going (back) to california
I’ve been out of commission for a while. Soon I hope to try to write about why. In the meantime, here is a piece I wrote about a year ago, when I was making...
radio silence
I haven’t felt able to write for a while.There comes a point when the only thing I want is to be alone. I’ve been an awful correspondent, in the middle of...