Suggestions
Julie Sutherland
Policy Analyst, Public Health Agency of Canada
Julie Sutherland is a Policy Analyst at the Public Health Agency of Canada, specifically working within the Indigenous Relations Team in the Intergovernmental and Indigenous Affairs Division since September 2023. She has a diverse background in literature and education, having been recognized for her teaching excellence in both Canada and the UK.
Her career includes various roles, such as:
- Facilitator at The London Literary Salon since March 2021, where she leads discussions on literature, philosophy, and drama.
- Founding Producer of Doktor Luke Productions, involved in producing cabarets and benefit shows since January 2008.
- Associate Researcher at the National Collaborating Centre for Indigenous Health from October 2019 to September 2023.
- Owner of In Other Words Editing & Evaluation Services from January 2001 to July 2021, focusing on editing and evaluation services for academics and organizations.
She holds a Ph.D. in English Studies from the University of Durham and has taught at various institutions, including Cape Breton University and the University of British Columbia. Additionally, she has received several honors, including the Ian Fairclough Teaching Prize from UBC in 2012.1
Highlights
The award-winning American poet Mary Oliver’s (1935–2019) ‘In Blackwater Woods’ vividly describes a forest’s luminous transformation. It invites us into its world with the simple invitation, ‘Look’, as it offers a contemplation on surrender. We have all endured losses. We have watched our lives as we knew them burn in the fire. When we are finally able to relinquish the worst of the suffering, we experience a journey from grief to deliverance, from wood to pillars of light. To try to understand loss is to drive ourselves to the brink of madness. To accept it is salvation—but to achieve this we must be kind to ourselves as we practise the bittersweet art of letting go. #brightpoemsfordarkdays
As we come to the end of Pride month, I'd like to commemorate the life of a formidable person and poet--Naomi Replansky--who lived to the marvellous age of 104.
"When I was a young lesbian in rural New Jersey in the ‘70s, I was completely lost in a dark sea and sky—without stars, sun or moon to guide me. The word 'lesbian' was only uttered, when it was uttered at all, with contempt and mockery. There appeared to be no place for me in society and culture, and to express myself would be dangerous. I wrote poems, and kept my poems private: a community of one."
