I received this book from River Street Writing in exchange for an honest review.
“When I saw forward into my death and welcomed its yawn, I haunted me,” (LaPierre 4).
In her newest poetry collection, Margo LaPierre gives a powerful and real look at psychosis, mania, and bipolar disorder. Not looking to romanticize her mental illness, LaPierre humanizes it and gives readers a more intimate understanding of her struggles and recovery while also touching on topics of infertility, gendered violence, and the ways one can heal and grow from trauma.
I say this every time I receive a poetry collection to review, but someday I will be smart enough to talk about why I like a poetry collection so much but unfortunately that day is not today.
I adored Ajar. LaPierre’s poetry collection is such an intimate and truthful look at struggling with mental illness and how the world looks when manic. LaPierre is honest when talking about her experienced highs and lows, how it affected herself, her friends, and her family as well as her recovery journey. The words are so gorgeous and lingering, these poems haunt your mind in a kind way, a haunting of knowing that even while struggling you are not alone.
LaPierre is a fantastic poet, do not miss her work! I was also very lucky to get to hear her read from this collection live and what a treat this was. Ajar is such a powerful and intimate collection, make sure to add it to your list!
Publication: October 31 2025
Publisher: Palimpsest Press
Pages: 100 pages (Paperback)
Source: River Street Writing
Genre: Fiction, Poetry, Canadian
My Rating: ⛤⛤⛤⛤
Summary:
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. My three go-to aids when I’ve felt dangerous to myself have been a nap, an antihistamine, or a trip to the emergency room. I spent a lot of time in young adulthood in emergency waiting rooms. There are worse places to be. I always brought a book.
Sarah O'Connor 