Image of a brown and white kitten with grey eyes resting on a blue shirt
Anybody need a visit from the Cat Distribution System? I have 5 of these little monsters and could potentially bring them with me to Vancouver on Tuesday.
I like that! I have a favourite poem title I’m thinking of borrowing for the book but I’m concerned it’s too long. I read other poets’ book titles and they’re often so magical and evocative. ☺️
Image of a woven cedar hat with an abalone button, a jar of soapberries, and a pair of copper earrings
I’m doing a fundraiser to support a local family that needs a hand. $20/ticket.
I can’t ship due to the mail strike but non-local folks are warmly welcomed to buy tickets as mutual aid and I can put tickets in the names of local elders!
EMTs to jess(dot)housty(at)gmail(dot)com
I also named my book after a poem title — and then laughed because everyone expected me to read that poem often, but it really wasn’t one of my stronger poems. Just an evocative title!
PS: Your book is a gift 🌿
Titles and blurbs are SO STRESSFUL. 🫠
At least 1-3 of them depending on how unhinged I’m feeling when you ask me 😂
Yáu. How do all you brilliant writers choose names for your books? 🌿
The intimacy and eroticism of Indigenous poetry is unmatched. 👌🏼
The seeds on the left came from the pods on the right! ☺️ sorry, I could have been clearer about that!
Thanks! I googled and they look beautiful!
Thanks!
Thanks!!
Several flat brown seeds in a small box with a tray of planters in the background
Broad flat seed pods in a small box with a tray of planters in the background
Hi friends, what are these seeds from? They were gifted to me with no label!
The canon of mid-Island literature is going to grow by leaps and bounds when these brilliant young humans start publishing their work. ❤️
Image of long-haired brunette in a brown sweater standing on the lawn in front of a Cahiri Secondary School sign
Image of a long-haired brunette with the entrance to Timberline Secondary School in the background
Ǧiáxsix̌a to Cahiri Secondary School & Timberline Secondary School in Campbell River — and to Words on the Water Festival — for inviting me to visit with some amazing high school students for classroom presentations and writing workshops!
You have an open invitation to visit when the time is right! ❤️
Can it be “feral garden season” or do I have to get my 💩 together?
Find me at Words on the Water in Campbell River next week! I’ll have a Friday evening panel, a Saturday morning reading/Q&A, and Saturday Evening Literary Cabaret in addition to a couple of high school visits! #CrushedWildMint
www.wordsonthewater.ca
View of the ocean with an island in the background, a cedar tree to the right, and a curved cedar deck in the foreground
View of moss hanging from a tree branch with a blurry forest in the background
View of waves crashing into a bay with rocks and the edges of the bay to the sides and a grey sky
View of fog dissipating from the trees behind a sandy beach, river mouth, and ocean bay
Today I was out on the land and it was good. ❤️
I also got to stop by Books & Shenanigans on Cook St. in Victoria to sign their copies of Crushed Wild Mint! Support those local bookstores, friends. 🥰
PS: They were so proud to tell me they’ve sold 28 copies of my book since it came out, and I was so thrilled! Local booksellers are some of my favourite people on the planet and a huge part of my success comes down to booksellers’ generosity in championing my book.
Shelf of poetry books at a book store. In the centre of the image is Crushed Wild Mint by Jess Housty, with a green cover decorated with a skeletal ribcage full of blooming wild plants.
I was touched to stop in at Munro’s Books in Victoria and find my book, Crushed Wild Mint, is a staff pick! I signed their copies too, so if you’re after a copy — you could stop by Munro’s! They always have the best fancy pens for authors to sign. 😌
Long-haired smiling brunette in an olive green raincoat pointing at a shop with a black awning that reads Ivy’s Bookshop
Today I popped into Ivy’s Bookshop on Oak Bay Ave in Victoria to pick up some new reads. And while I was there I signed a copy of #CrushedWildMint, so if you’re after an autographed copy stop on by!
If you’re so moved, we can receive charitable donations here! We still need to raise about $150,000 toward the interior finishing and furnishing. ❤️ www.canadahelps.org/en/charities...
Image of stained cedar rafters with blue sky in the background
Our Qqs crew is building it from the ground up, just like everything else we do, and I couldn’t be prouder.
This two storey beauty will overlook Lama Pass, have ample office and programming space, and double as a community climate refuge when needed (heating, cooling, air purification, and functional amenities in the event of a power outage).
Image of Jess in an olive green jacket and blue knit touque with the construction site and blue sky in the background
So! Ask me how excited I am that we are finally building an office that’s designed with our projects, programs, and people in mind. 🥰
Up til 2007, Qqs had no office. From 2007-2013, we used the old bank below the grocery store as our office until it was lost to a fire.
From 2013-now, we’ve made do in a collection of sheds, trailers, and sundry buildings that can’t keep up with our growing staff or our programming needs.
View of trees, mountains, ocean, and blue sky through an unfinished window
I have the privilege of running a beautiful organization called Qqs Society. I spent ~15 years as the fundraiser for Qqs and have been the Executive Director for 5+ years.
The seeds of Qqs’ work started in the mid-90s and it was incorporated as a society in 1999 and a charity in 2001.
