ABOUT MERKAT
MERKAT is a poet, writer, and interdisciplinary artist. A member of the Writer's Union of Canada and associate member of the League of Canadian Poets, her work can be found in literary, feminist, and interfaith publications across North America, including Room and Geez magazines, among others. Her poetry collections include Mothertongue, Courage, Spring Thaw (Glentula Press, 2022), Materials at Hand, and Portals of Light: Poems for Winter Solstice (Glentula Press, 2024). A community radio broadcaster, her current project, "Nightfall with Merkat," considers poetry from years past, with an emphasis on folks outside the conventional canon. Find her @merkatart and follow her process here. She is of the Great Lakes.
ART! WORDS! LIGHT!
"Light! More light!" - Goethe
"Was it Kierkegaard or Dick Van Patten who said, 'if you label me, you negate me?'" (Wayne Campbell, Wayne's World)
“Self portrait with old Polaroid #1,” 2023
ABOUT THIS RAG
My name is Merkat, and I’m a writer, interdisciplinary artist, and educator.
Words and images--books and visual art--connect the dots between my inner and outer worlds, and I know I’m in good company. There's some kind of magic in that connecting, and I am deeply invested in working with that magic.
I am profoundly grateful to the authors and artists I have encountered along the way whose creations serve as lights against the darkening. Art saves lives—mine included. The purpose of this newsletter is simply this: to add my fire to that library of light.
As a writer, I work across genres. Poetry and creative nonfiction are my focus, but I also write for newspapers and journals, create content for the sustainability sector, and am a playwright and author of short fiction. (A few interviews covering the backstory behind some my work: Word on the Hills).
As an artist, I create in a variety of mediums including visual art, radio broadcasting, graphic art, photography, and short films, among other forms, and I find great energy in allowing these modes to cross-pollinate and inform one another.
“Into the Wilderness,” Acrylic & mixed media on repurposed wood, MERKAT, 2019
Several throughlines undergird my artistic practice: an abiding love of flora, fauna, and the cosmos; a fascination with archetype and folklore; a spiritual worldview; a feminist posture; and a lifelong interest in psychology and philosophy.
Lastly, I am an educator. Over the years I have taught in both traditional classroom settings as well as outside of the institution. The notion of human beings as curious, storytelling animals born with an inherent capacity for growth and connection guides my writing, art-making, and public engagement.
“Self Portrait with old Polaroid #2,” 2023
In this newsletter, you'll find missives from all corners of my brain and being, along with updates on: Where to read my writing, catch my poetry readings, and view my art, as well as where to find my books & visual art for yourself in “real” life.
With Gratitude,
MERKAT
POETRY COLLECTIONS
Praise for Spring Thaw (Glentula Press, 2022) :
“[Merkat] leads the reader to melt, to be human, to ‘be patient with your erosion.’”
—Jessica Outram, Poet, Author & Educator (www.jessicaoutram.com)
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