A good story has many elements. What鈥檚 key, Kwantlen Polytechnic University (KPU) instructor Jen Currin tells students, is keeping it fresh.
鈥淓ven if you鈥檙e working with tired material, it鈥檚 making that material new,鈥� said Currin.
鈥淚t鈥檚 easy to think there鈥檚 nothing new under the sun, and why does my piddly little voice matter, but we鈥檙e always hungry for new stories. There鈥檚 always a new way to approach the material,鈥� said the New Westminster author.
Currin models this in 鈥淒isembark,鈥� their new book of a dozen short stories.
An instructor of creative writing and English upgrading at KPU, Currin felt called to chronicle the untold stories of queer communities 鈥� particularly ones of friendship and love.
鈥淎 big impetus to write the stories in this book is that a lot of the experiences I鈥檝e lived through and witnessed, having been a part of queer communities in various cities I鈥檝e lived in, are stories that have not been told. And so many characters鈥� queer characters鈥� have not been brought to the page,鈥� they shared.
鈥淒isembark鈥� showcases modes of realism and speculative storytelling, giving readers insight into the ways people relate in this world and worlds beyond.
In one story, a spirit shacks up with a lesbian couple in a rocky relationship.
In another, a queer woman finds herself heartbroken when her best friend fails her at a crucial moment.
In a third, a young alcoholic hashes things out with their mother in the afterlife.
鈥淚鈥檓 interested in realism because there鈥檚 so many stories that I鈥檓 interested in telling that are grounded in the reality that we share. But I鈥檓 also really interested in magic realism, surrealism, and other kinds of speculative fiction,鈥� said Currin.
This is Currin鈥檚 second book of short stories. 鈥淗ider/Seeker: Stories鈥� won a Canadian Independent Book Award, was a finalist for a ReLit Award and was named a 2018 Globe and Mail Best Book.
They have also published five collections of poetry, most recently 鈥淭rinity Street鈥� in 2023.
鈥淧oetry is my first love, but short fiction is a close runner up. The two genres have a lot of common: both being short form, being able to work with deep imagery and musicality. These are my two favourite forms, and hopefully I won鈥檛 be called to write a novel in this lifetime,鈥� said Currin.
鈥淒isembark,鈥� was released in mid May.
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