KPU creative writing instructor releases new book exploring queer relationships

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A Kwantlen Polytechnic University creative writing instructor is releasing a new book of short stories next week that explore queer relationships and friendships.

Jen Currin’s motivation for writing Disembark, which comes out May 14, was to bring life to the kinds of stories they witnessed and experienced in their communities that were not being represented on the page.

Disembark’s 12 stories have a mix of realism — including magic realism — and fantastical narrative, meaning they’re not all based on reality. While people often gravitate towards the novel, memoir, or nonfiction forms, Currin says they are a “huge lover” of the short story genre.

“I love the short form precisely for a lot of the reasons that other people might struggle with it,” Currin says. “I love its brevity. I love how dense and concise it can be. I love that short stories are like poetry. They’re imagistic. You get a little flash of a world.”

The first story in the book, “The Golden Triangle,” is about three friends who have all been lovers at different times. Twenty years later, they remain friends, showing a happy outcome for their polyamorous arrangement, Currin says.

A non-realism story in Disembark is “Banshee,” where a banshee, an Irish ghost or wraith, starts haunting a lesbian couple in a tense relationship. Another example of non-realism is “Disembark,” which is the final story in the collection and where the book takes its name from. This story features an alcoholic character meeting their mother in the afterlife.

Besides queer relationships and friendships as well as addiction and alcoholism, stories in the book also touch on the end of both patriarchy and capitalism.

Currin says “The Charismacist” deals with a “problematic, predatory teacher in a grad-school situation,” while another story, “The Dean Regrets” deals with higher-education teachers who are college instructors. 

“So there’s quite a range, both positive portrayals of friendships that are working and then also portrayals of friendships that didn’t work for whatever reason,” they say.

The book went through about four titles, first beginning with “The Charismacist,” which is a long, made-up word that takes its name after Currin’s story. When publisher House of Anansi Press took the book, discussions about changing the title started, with “The Golden Triangle” and “New Beds” — both story names in the collection.

Currin and the publisher agreed on Disembark after a back and forth of suggesting titles and emailing about six close writer friends to vote on the ideas.

“Usually, my other publishers have just taken my titles. It’s actually the first time I’ve had to go through such an involved process around titling,” they say. “It was actually quite a lot of back and forth, more than usual, but I’m glad because now I’m very happy with the title.”

Currin spent about five years creating Disembark, with any story they write going between 10 to 30 drafts.

“I write hundreds of pages for a story that will end up being 25 pages. It’s a lot of trial and error, a lot of editing and rewriting. I get feedback from writer friends, from readers, and so I workshop my stories with them,” Currin says.

“Lots of drafting, lots of revising, cutting scenes, writing new scenes, rearranging scenes. It’s a very laborious process. Parts of it are fun and parts of it I genuinely enjoy, and there’s also parts of it that are just work.”

On May 11, at New Westminster’s Wildfires Bookshop, Currin will join writers Shashi Bhat and Kitchen McKeown for a book celebration and reading hosted by poet Junie Désil as a part of the Bridges Literary Festival. At Vancouver bar The Lido, Currin will join Carleigh Baker, author of Last Woman, along with host and poet Raoul Fernandes on June 4 at 7:00 pm to read from their new books, sell copies, and talk about the short story form.

At KPU, Currin also brings their passion of short stories into the classroom.

“It’s fun to practice a form really ardently and then get to go practice it with my students and encourage them,” they say. “There is a huge connection for me as a teacher around practice — teaching practice and writing practice. I feel I get better at teaching writing because I’m so passionate about practice.”