news | Thursday April 10, 2025

allostatic load Has Arrived!

Great news! allostatic load, the second poetry collection by Junie Désil has arrived! allostatic load navigates the racialized interplay of chronic wear and tear during tumultuous years marked by global racial tensions, the commodification of care, and the burden of systemic injustice. allostatic load invites readers to hold the vulnerability and resilience required to navigate deep healing in a world that does not wish you well, in a world that is inflamed and consequently inflames us, in a world where true restoration and health must co-occur with the planet and with each other.

From “he has beautiful flowering trees this elder neighbour”:

“one time he dropped by with fresh-caught
salmon
sweet sun-ripe plums and plump fragrant
blackberries
purple mulberries that stain
lips and fingers
in my previous life i scheduled acquaintances
and loved ones
like appointments – i couldn’t handle spontaneity
and here a neighbour
happily unknowingly interrupts a work Zoom call
to hand me
this bounty of local seafood and fruit”

Moving between diaristic intimacy and the remove of news reportage, allostatic load is a triumph. Pick up your copy here.