Poetry

Loyalty and Violence

Loyalty and Violence

When I finally told you that my first boyfriend raped me, I was worried you would be mad When I finally told you that my first boyfriend raped me, I was worried you would be mad I hadn’t told you sooner. You and Dad believed so innocently that you could keep me safe...

No Comment

No Comment

I’ve heard there is a room where hooded women enter, writing dates on the wall with the torn edge of their finger. I’ve heard you can cipher the numbers to bodies, to the graceless edge of some men’s beds. Is I’ve heard there is a room where hooded women enter,...

White house, where some family lived upstairs

White house, where some family lived upstairs

Fear the caging of birds. Strangled and brown. Moving here was like crossing a river, debriefings, scaling back. Clay pots clogged, awkward like an ingrown hair, browning down in the sun. Staring at walls draws a crowd, like a hardened nipple, a tear-streaked thigh....

Boreal Selkie

Boreal Selkie

I shed my pelt on the shoreline, leaving the warmth of the glossy grey coat to shiver and head for land. I shed my pelt on the shoreline, leaving the warmth of the glossy grey coat to shiver and head for land. I am careful to walk where the water will erase my steps,...

This Will Be Good

This Will Be Good

My mother in a rental van idling in the Phoenix Airport parkade. She does a word search, finds “tongue” “bitter” “cochlea” lets a ballpoint pen tell her of her own body. I tap the van window, see her face for the first time in months. It’s been too hot, My mother in a...

And now you have what you were waiting for

And now you have what you were waiting for

The first time, you walk into the night and think, This January wind is like death. Then you laugh at the idea that wind can kill in a city where asphalt is streaked with long stripes of blood or shit or mud. The first time, you walk into the night and think, This...

trans womanhood, in colour

trans womanhood, in colour

i am the flower that grows out of the cliffside overhanging the lake on thin soil birthed by lichen that digested rocks that i might bloom in her body with love to all of us in life, spirit, remembrance, and struggle i. for St. Marsha P and every Miss that took hits i...

Notre Freres

Notre Freres

We were born beneath the water in the darkest depths of the lake We rise, our hooves rumbling spewing lake water, muzzles dripping We were born beneath the water in the darkest depths of the lake We rise, our hooves rumbling spewing lake water, muzzles dripping in the...

treading water

treading water

every treasure chest breathes heavy, every black pearl understands the uncomfortable whole every treasure chest breathes heavy, every black pearl understands the uncomfortable whole just as every siren knows to turn her sadness into song, develop a taste for...

Line

Line

a system of lines is then discovered by light, filtering through trees, through trees whose branches discover lines along the moss in light a system of lines is then discovered by light, filtering through trees, through trees whose branches discover lines along the...

Pre-order our next issue

ROOM 48.1 WITS END
In times of crisis, we laugh to offer tenderness, to ward off despair— so we can be brave. Gather round ROOM 48.1 WITS END and let humour be a mirror held up to the state of the world as we continue to resist.

Currently on Newsstands

ROOM 47.4 FULL CIRCLE
Step back with Room into the past, to parents, to childhood homes, and to people once known and loved; dig into themes of grief and healing; and ultimately explore what it means to come full circle in literature.

Subscribe to our newsletter

Be the first to know about our contests, calls for submissions, and upcoming events.

* indicates required

Join us on Patreon

Become a RoomMate

Seeking members who love literature, events, merchandise, and supporting marginalized creators.


Visit our Store