Welcome to The Poetry Kiln!
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☆ About Mikaela (she/her)
My name is Mikaela Brewer, and I’m a Canadian multi-disciplinary published poet, writer, speaker, and researcher. I played basketball for Team Canada and Stanford University where I studied human biology (brain, behaviour, and mental health), creative writing, and science communication. I write and speak about my experiences as both a multi-suicide-attempt and multi-suicide-loss survivor, and am currently working on several writing projects that braid suicide prevention with poetry, language, storytelling, fiction, voice, and music.
My approach to writing has always been reflecting how I absorb and digest the world around me—news, art, quotes, nature, myths, poems, fiction, conversations, books, pain, experiences, travel, therapy, grief, and this list continues. I wanted to carve a cozy space to explore the fluidity of whatever happens to be in my heart each month. Chances are its circulating through your bloodstream, too.
With this, I wish to share the names of a few wonderful, wise people who inspire and guide both my writing work & life. There is always an ever-growing village & lineage lifting everything we do:
Pádraig Ó Tuama, Cassandra Lam, Audre Lorde, bell hooks, Jedidiah Jenkins, Michael McRay, Kim Saira, Blair Imani Ali, Hitomi Mochizuki, Felicia Rose Chavez, Robert Moor, Joy Harjo, Dr. Jennifer Mullan, Tommy Rivers Puzy, Marie Beecham, Martin Shaw, Rupi Kaur, Madeline Miller, Anne Lamott, Khaled Hosseini, Lawrence Hill, Susanna Barkataki, Roxane Gay, Maria Popova, Maya C. Popa, Toni Morrison, Bryan Stevenson, Tariq Luthun, Ross Gay, Basman Derawi, Safia Elhillo, Schuyler Bailar, and many, many more.
I’m also grateful to be able to live and work on the land (colonially known as Barrie, Ontario) of the Anishinaabeg people, including the Odawa, Ojibwe, and Potawatomi Nations (collectively known as the Three Fires Confederacy), as well as the Wendat Nation (Huron), who’ve tended to these lands long before the mid-17th century. Indigenous people in Canada continue to face the impacts of ongoing colonial violence. In the Barrie area, The Barrie Native Friendship Centre honours Indigenous history, culture, and life, by centring healing, health, and justice for First Nations, Métis, and Inuit. Please consider supporting their wonderful work, or research/support/uplift Indigenous people & organizations near you.
☆ Blog & Newsletter Details …
What can I expect?
Free Subscribers ☆
A letter from me will join your inbox on the first Friday of every month. This will consist of a poem, audio reading, and accompanying photos from the wonderful Lida Pavlova (lidapavlova_magic), Amy Crowder (@amyisgoingplaces), and occasionally me!
Each Monday, you’ll receive a poem-in-progress in your inbox. These won’t be public posts, but a chance for all subscribers (only!) to peek into my process. The poems will be relatively polished, but any thoughts/feedback/suggestions are always welcome.
Notes: a living archive of words that feel like one-way doors.
Flash fiction, monthly!
Past-Tense-Postcards: dispatches from my travels as an athlete, coming soon, also monthly!
Paid Subscribers ☆
Everything above^
Posts older than 1 year, now archived
Endless gratitude & appreciation 🧡
How can I support this work?
You’re more than welcome to donate or become a paid subscriber of this Substack. This money supports my time & work, with Substack taking a small portion of subscription fees.
How can I be in touch?
Connect with me via email at mikbrew@outlook.com. You’re also welcome to message me here on Substack. :)
Thank you for being here—for sharing your time & energy with me. Take good care. 🌱
