My name is Sheryda. I currently live and work in Stockholm Sweden, though I would call Vancouver BC home. I spend a lot of time looking out the window of my 4th floor apartment at the vast Scandinavian sky. I’m a poet and a teacher. I’m inspired by photography, magazines, Swedish design and fashion, anything handmade. I indulge in good TV, good wine and good books. I attempt to highlight the remarkable qualities of any ordinary moment in my poems, the same way a film still isolates a meaningful gesture or symbol. I have a preoccupation with what I would consider life’s extraordinary details, and for this reason I keep notes on a daily basis.
My first Paperblanks blank journal was a gift. Because it was so beautifully made, I wanted to dedicate the space of its pages to something of vital importance. I had a hard time figuring out what that might be, and left the journal blank for a while before I realized I didn’t need to be so precious about it. It was a lovely writing journal, yes, but it was also durable, ready to be carted around and used. So I began making lists inside: art exhibits attended, bottles of wine drunk, movies I wanted to watch, books read, magazines I loved, restaurants I tried – the writing journal became not only an important reference, but a kind of cultural, personal record of my life at the time. Valuable then, invaluable now – a journal worth keeping.
I’m a very particular notebook user – the height of a line, the thinness of the paper, what kinds of paper absorbs the pen marks of my favourite pens and which are better for pencil are all taken into consideration. I write rough sketches of poems by hand, and then move to the computer when the ideas come together, so I very much believe in the livelihood of journal-keeping, and have returned again and again to Paperblanks for artful record-keeping.
Sheryda Warrener’s poems have appeared in Canadian journals such as The Malahat Review, EVENT, Antigonish Review, Grain, and The Fiddlehead, and in the anthology Breathing Fire 2: Canada’s New Poets (Nightwood, 2004). She received a BFA from the University of Victoria in 2001, and an MFA from the University of British Columbia in 2008.
Her first collection of poetry, Hard Feelings, is published by Snare Books. Read an interview with Sheryda here.
Our Artist Series features snapshots of the creative people who use our journals. From all parts of the world, and all walks of life, we celebrate the infinite number of ways in which creativity can be expressed. If you would like to have your story featured, email fmallett@hartleyandmarks.com.
