About this Event
Join us for the Vancouver launch of , a timely new memoir exploring how societal expectations shape identity, and how we can continue, at any age, to release the past. This is a free event, but please RSVP for your spot here, as capacity is limited. Books will be on hand for sale and signing!
A raw, searching and intimate memoir, Bloom: Letters on Girlhood is a conversation between two acclaimed writers about silence and shame and what it means to come of age as young women. Over 2.5 years, authors Claire Sicherman (Imprint: A Memoir of Trauma in the Third Generation) and Nicole Breit, an award-winning poet and essayist, exchanged letters chronicling their coming-of-age in the suburbs of late 1980s Vancouver.
Bloom: Letters on Girlhood is a candid memoir-in-letters in which Claire and Nicole explore the awkwardness and confusion of adolescence, delving into everything from periods, first bras and body hair to desire, sexuality and consent. As they reflect on their silent struggles as girls, women and mothers from the perspective of mid-life, the true impact of patriarchy and misogyny on their lives becomes increasingly apparent.
More about the authors:
Nicole Breit (she/her) is a queer award-winning essayist and writing coach based on the traditional lands of the Sḵwx̱wú7mesh people in Gibsons, BC. Her work has been widely published in journals and anthologies including Brevity, The Fiddlehead, Room, Hippocampus, Pithead Chapel, Event, Swelling with Pride: Queer Conception and Adoption Stories (Caitlin Press), Awfully Hilarious: Period Pieces (ed. Heather Hendrie) and Getting to the Truth: The Craft and Practice of Creative Nonfiction (Books by Hippocampus). Nicole’s essay about first love and loss, “An Atmospheric Pressure”, was selected as a notable essay by the editors of Best American Essays, 2017. Find her at nicolebreit.com.
Claire Sicherman is the author of Imprint: A Memoir of Trauma in the Third Generation. Her writing has been published in anthologies and journals including Awfully Hilarious: Period Pieces, Don’t Ask: What Families Hide, Sustenance: Writers from BC and Beyond on the Subject of Food, Grain Magazine, Pithead Chapel, Lost Balloon, Hippocampus, and The Rumpus. Claire is a facilitator, speaker, and trauma-informed somatic writing coach, supporting writers in bringing the stories they hold in their bodies out onto the page. Find her at clairesicherman.com
More about Upstart & Crow:
Upstart & Crow is a not-for-profit creative studio and literary incubator that champions writers, readers and stories, and the role they play in shaping our lives. We develop original programs, support artists and revel in creative projects focused on Literature In Translation / Climate Solutions / Poetry / Civic Dialogue / Community & Skills Building … all with the aim of elevating the role of literature and storytelling in our lives. Find us on Granville Island, Gibsons and online at upstartandcrow.com.
Accessibility:
The main studio of our shop is accessible for folks with mobility aids. There is a washroom on the main floor available for attendees.
Questions: hello[at]upstartandcrow.com.
Event Venue & Nearby Stays
Upstart & Crow, 1387 Railspur Alley, Vancouver, Canada
CAD 0.00
