Good Grief
Theodora Hart is a prairie woman who suffers loss but whose unique faith burns bright. She is rooted in the land of her youth and despite bad weather blooms strong like the August sun. Jesus also lights her heart. These brief poems tell of Theodora’s grief and the shafts of wheat she pounds and kneads into the bread of life.
Good Grief won the Bronze Prize in the Poetry - Religious and Inspirational category of the Global Book Awards. It also received a five star review from Readers' Favorite: Book Reviews and Award Contest.
Good Grief was a finalist in an American contest: the 2024 Next Generation Indie Book Awards. It placed in their spirituality category.
An earlier version of Good Grief was a finalist in the 2023 Orison Chapbook Prize contest in the U.S. There were hundreds of entries.
The story of
April Bulmer
April Bulmer is an award-winning Canadian poet. She holds Master’s degrees in creative writing, women and religion and theological studies from major universities. Much of her writing deals with women and spirituality and the divine feminine. Many of her dozen books have been shortlisted for awards, including the Intenational Beverly Prize for Literature in London, England, the Pat Lowther Memorial Award for the best book of poetry by a Canadian woman and the Next Generation Indie Book Awards in the U.S. She won the YWCA Women of Distinction Award in the art and culture category in Cambridge, Ontario where she lives. April’s work has been celebrated and published widely in prestigious journals, antholgies and newspapers. For more details check out www.aprilbulmer.wordpress.com
Photo by Stan Switalski
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Books by April Bulmer
Year of the Dog
April Bulmer is an award-winning Canadian poet. Her Year of the Dog: A Poet’s Journal represents a thought-provoking year in her life. Her evocative prose, poetry and essays invite us to share the insights of a sensitive, mystical and gifted writer. Her name ‘April’ means ‘to open.’ Not surprising, her book is a candid reflection. She shares personal meditations on the year 2018 and earlier experiences and challenges. Her vision is always unique and beautifully expressed.
April Bulmer is also a voice in the wilderness: a clear feminine call to consider new perspectives on women, religion, mental health and love. Shortlisted for the International Beverly Prize for Literature in London, England, you will join the judges in celebrating this writer’s personal confessions and poetic perceptions. April Bulmer offers you the key to unlock her diary and peek into the pages of her heart.
Colour Theory
The poems in this chapbook are based on the names of paint colours. Award-winning writer April Bulmer collected samples from local hardware stores and used the names as titles for her poems. As she wrote, a short narrative developed: a story of Canadian soulmates who have reincarnated. In this incarnation, they marry and heal each other. The woman loves her husband, a warlock and surgeon who soothes her nervous condition. The woman offers him her artistic gifts. Their love is deeply rooted in the mystical history of this planet.
Feats of Weakness
April Bulmer’s new book of short prose and stories, Feats of Weakness, investigates the relationship between illness and spirituality. Her characters share their tales of physical, mental and emotional suffering. April’s writing is strong medicine for what ails you. The book was a finalist in the Next Generation Indie Book Awards in the U.S. It was celebrated for its unique descriptions of sickness in the context of sacred traditions and mystical experiences. Her stories of holy encounters and beliefs are tonics for all readers during this challenging time of pandemic. They are effective relief for patients, caregivers and leaders.
The spirit world is dark. Even my lover has declared war on my heart. “Be the hammer not the nail,” my astrologer said. I hit Lover hard in return. He says it hurts.
April Bulmer
According to readers, Feats of Weakness is a wonderful collection of fictional stories. Each short narrative describes an illness in a spiritual, religious, or metaphysical context. In her new audiobook, based on the award-winning text, April Bulmer has created figures or referenced real people who have suffered and shared their feats of strength or weakness. The audiobook was read and recorded by American actress Christine Jacobs. Her performance is clear, sensitive and compelling.
April wishes to reach women and men who might be seeking alternative approaches to the big questions of life. Most of us have suffered some form of illness, her new audiobook is universal in this way. April’s educational background has allowed her to set characters’ experiences of illness in a variety of religious contexts, broadening listeners' thoughts about both the physical and the metaphysical worlds.
Listen to a few excerpts from the book then purchase your copy at amazon.ca today.
Destination Art competition
My poem “Soaking Up the Rays,” which is an excerpt from my chapbook “Colour Theory,” was posted at Water St. and Samuelson St. in Cambridge near the main intersection called the Delta. It was illustrated with artwork from a young local artist named Elizabeth Campbell.