November 6, 2011
Yukon College instructor releases first book of poetry
Whitehorse –
Enjoying the moment of liftoff
As when the airplane of the soul leaves
The tarmac of the body.
—- Sleeper, Jamella Hagen
For Yukon College instructor Jamella Hagen, the whole experience of releasing her first book of poetry has been a little surreal.
"It’s a new thing for me, putting a book out," she says. "Up to now I’ve been writing quietly, on the side. It’s exciting to have the opportunity to share that work with readers."
Hagen’s book, Kerosene, is the end product of five years’ work, and a life spent travelling and working abroad.
"The book begins in Northern BC, where I grew up," she says. "It takes a journey to Vancouver, then overseas, then returns to the north- to the Yukon- in the end.