JC Sulzenko, Canadian Poet & Author

JC thanks Silver Birch Press Editor Melanie Villines for publishing her free verse poem, “A ritual in five time.” 

“I am honoured that this poem appears in the California press’s newest series, My Favourite Things. The Press has published my poems a number of times, for which I am grateful.”

“This poem takes its point of departure from the turbulence of the times and suggests a way to find calm,” JC explained.  “In reciting a selection of five favourite things, a different quintet each night after turning out the light, I focus on what I love and find I am able to sleep. Editor Villines chose a perfect image to complement the piece— squares of chocolate!”

“Try the method. It works!” JC advises.

Here’s a link to the poem: 
https://silverbirchpress.wordpress.com/2025/07/07/a-ritual-in-five-time-by-jc-sulzenko-my-favorite-thngs-series/

THEMA LITERARY MAGAZINE’s summer 2025 issue features JC poem, “Gridlock.”

JC thanks editor Virginia Howard for including her work on the theme of “a new routine.”

“This narrative poem represents a hybrid experience, combining imagined and semi-autobiographical elements when I moved from Canada’s capital to its largest city. Will readers be able to distinguish the ‘fiction’ from the fact?” JC wondered. Here’s the link to that piece:

https://themaliterarysociety.com/issues/NEW%20ROUTINE.htm

(About THEMA from its website:  the journal “has three goals. One is to provide a stimulating forum for established and emerging literary and visual artists. The second is to serve as source material and inspiration for teachers of creative writing. The third is to provide readers with a unique and entertaining collection of stories, poems, art, and photography.)

JC is delighted that “Chrysalis,” a found poem written under her pen name A. Garnett Weiss, is now etched onto a picnic tabletop in beautiful downtown Cobourg, Ontario.

“Chrysalis” appears on the table dedicated to nature poems. It adds to her series of poems using words and phrases drawn from obituaries published in the GLOBE AND MAIL. Her first collection of such 5-line poems, LIFE AFTER LIFE—FROM EPITAPH TO EPILOGUE, published by Aeolus House in 2024.

“Canada Day marked the unveiling of this table. I haven’t yet seen the poem in place but will when I give a reading in Cobourg on July 17 at the Thursday Reading Series. I look forward to this ‘first’ for me and my work. I thank the editors for including my poem,” JC added.

Here’s the story about the project:

I admit I came to enjoy this easy read. The exploration of a marriage on hiatus and how that break affects the couple individually, their extended family, plus their network of friends, is both contemporary and relevant. The Irish setting with regular spells in London pleased me, as did the scope the novelist gave the minor characters. RATING: 6.5/10

For the full review and spoilers, click here.