In episode five, Alessandra sits down with award-winning poet and author Jillian Christmas to discuss mental health, ritual, and the wisdom we hold together. The pair share personal stories of crisis and recovery, illness and adaptation, while drawing on the migratory wisdom and family systems of geese and crows. The final episode of the season is a love letter, filled with poetry, practical tools, prayers and stalwart faith it is possible to find our way home together.

In this extended interview, you'll hear new poetry by Jillian Christmas, alongside work from her critically acclaimed, award-winning collection "The Gospel of Breaking." You'll hear an intimate story about mental health crisis and PTSD; but one where care was present and healing was possible. And you'll be given insight into "mad mapping," a practical tool for mapping out community care and strategies for survival, that has been used by mad/crip/disabled communities for decades.

This season ends with Jillian's proposition: "The world that I believe as possible is the one that we are willing to work for." May the world we work for be one of peace, justice, and collective liberation.

*

More about Jillian Christmas: Jillian Christmas is an artist, creative facilitator, curator, consultant, and advocate in the arts community. She is the long-time spoken word curator of the Vancouver Writers Fest, and former artistic director of Verses Festival of Words. Utilizing an anti-oppressive lens, Jillian has performed and facilitated workshops across North America. She is the author of The Gospel of Breaking (Arsenal Pulp Press 2020), and the children’s book, The Magic Shell (Flamingo Rampant Press 2022). She lives on the unceded territories of the Squamish, Tsleil-Waututh and Musqueam people (Vancouver, BC.)

This episode was recorded in September 2023. For more on the podcast, including transcripts and books, see: www.alessandranaccarato.com/imminentdomains

Our thanks goes to Canada Council for the Arts for their support in bringing this podcast to life. This podcast is an expansion of Alessandra's essay collection, Imminent Domains: Reckoning with the Anthropocene. Our thanks goes to publisher Book*hug Press.

In episode 4, Alessandra sits down with poet Kyla Jamieson to discuss poetry, disability, and love as a verb. The pair dive into questions of love, joy and community care, discuss the ocean a site of awe and fear, and contemplate how disability might create intimacy with the earth. Kyla shares poetry from her lauded poetry collection BODY COUNT, which was CBC Best Poetry Book of the Year in 2020. 

“I truly feel like language is a miracle,” Kyla offers, “and poetry is a celebration of that miracle. What poets do is always rooted in love, because that love of language is always present.”

In this episode, Alessandra sits down with Seraphina Capranos, an internationally sought-after teacher, renowned clinical herbalist and homeopath, to discuss the world of plant medicine and the impact of climate change on our health. 

They discuss Alessandra's journey with chronic Lyme disease, the “call and response” of invasive species, and the language of ecosystems. A compelling educator, speaker, and the founder of the Center for Sacred Arts, Seraphina offers profound insights into the natural world, the healing power of ritual, and the symbiosis of herbal and western medicine.

“We aren’t just connected to nature,” Seraphina reminds us, “we ARE nature. Our modern illnesses reflect what's happening in nature. They are a direct mirror of the earth.” 

About Guest Seraphina Capranos:

Seraphina Capranos is a clinical herbalist, homeopath and initiated priestess, with a practice spanning across two decades. Based on Salt Spring Island, her unique blend of gifts straddle the vast worlds of plant medicine, ritual and ceremonial magic. She is a sought-after international teacher, and the founder of the Center for Sacred arts: https://www.centerforsacredarts.com/

About Host Alessandra Naccarato:

Author of "Imminent Domains: Reckoning with the Anthropocene" and "Re-Origin of Species," Alessandra's rich background in community economic development and creative arts, as well as her literary career,  fuels her multifaceted exploration of our changing world. Born and raised in Tkaronto (Toronto), she has received numerous awards and recognitions, including the RBC Bronwen Wallace Award and the CBC Poetry Prize. She is the creator and host of the Imminent Domains Podcast: https://www.alessandranaccarato.com/imminentdomains

About Imminent Domains:

This Podcast is an expansion of Imminent Domains: Reckoning with the Anthropocene, an essay collection by Alessandra Naccarato, published by Book*hug Press, available as an audiobook, ebook, or in print, wherever your get your books, or at https://alessandranaccarato.com

We would like to thanks the Canada Council for the Arts for their support in the creation of this podcast.