An exuberant first-person account of bipolar disorder 1 that goes beyond the binary.
The poems in Ajar navigate the physical and psychological dangers of womanhood through the flattening lens of mood disorder. Psychosis isn’t the opposite of reality—it’s another perceptual system. If neurotypical thought measures the world in centimetres, this collection measures it in inches, gallons, amperes. Ajar celebrates radical recovery from gendered violence and psychotic paradigm shifts, approaching madness through prismatic inquiry. As time converges within us, we find new ways to heal and grow. From the emergency room to the pharmacy to the fertility clinic to the dis/comfort of home and memory, this collection humanizes bipolar psychosis.
Author's note: These poems depict suicidality and some of the violences that worsen the risk. In Canada and the US, the suicide crisis helpline is 988 and it’s available 24/7.
"With fierce attention and care, Margo LaPierre chronicles the sharp, shifting edges of gendered violence through the kaleidoscope of psychosis. Holding space for trauma’s echoes and ghosts, Ajar reframes perception—and time itself."
- Sandra Ridley, author of Vixen
"These poems make me want to strip off my skin and jump from a balcony, wearing come-hither shoes, into an inconvenience store after an overdose on entropy. LaPierre can write the pants off anyone. These poems are smart, sexy, deathly, and—I am in love."
- Susan Musgrave, author of Exculpatory Lilies
"Margo LaPierre’s Ajar is an ecstatic punch to the gut. Unflinching, rich, and infinitely gorgeous, this collection offers an exquisite dissection of mental illness, gendered violence, and their many intersections."
- Hollay Ghadery, author of Fuse
