Sophia Conway's Blog

 

[Pulled from the Good News Post's website. You can read the article on their website here!]

By Community Correspondent

It was a moment of quiet hope and healing when Christiana Sophia Conway walked into her local hospital carrying a large box filled with over 60 handmade cotton bags—each one a small, tangible act of compassion for women experiencing pregnancy loss.

Just three years earlier, she had stood in that same hospital lobby, heartbroken and grieving the remains of her miscarried baby.

"It felt bizarre," she said, "to be back in the room in much better circumstances felt powerful, almost healing".

The box of freshly ironed and neatly piled colourful drawstring bags were a far cry from the container she had received her baby's remains in all those years earlier.

The loss was the result of a miscarriage followed by a D&C surgery in her local hospital. Before the surgery, Christiana had asked for her baby's remains to be returned to her so that she and her husband could find their own way of laying
their baby's remains to rest - not an unusual request.

Christiana Sophia Conway with the new drawstring bags - Image supplied Christiana Sophia Conway

Shockingly, she was handed a take-out-style container following the surgery, wrapped in a white plastic bag with the words "hazardous" and "biological waste" printed in red across it.

For Christiana, who was in the midst of grieving her baby, it was devastating.

"It felt so disrespectful and dishonoring to our child. I don't believe it was done on purpose, probably just an oversight, but it hurt deeply," recounts Christiana, "I didn't do anything about it at the time because I was in the midst of grieving our baby and healing physically from the miscarriage. There was already so much to process and heal from."

That feeling of hurt led her to write a poem, Sparrow Fly, which was included in her poetry book, Someday Somewhere Beautiful, published by Kelsay Books in Spring 2025.

By that point, Christiana had mostly forgotten about the incident, but as she began rehearsing her poetry in preparation for the book launch event, that same poem ignited the hurtful memory and the realization that, since her experience, little may have changed at that hospital if no one else had spoken up since.

Christiana immediately wrote to her local health provider with oversight on the hospital where she experienced her surgery, not expecting to hear back, but
the response was quick and compassionate.

"They were shocked that this had happened to me, and deeply apologetic. I was invited onto a team of healthcare professionals at that same hospital to work on improving care for women who had experienced a miscarriage."

After months of ZOOM meetings and email chains, Christiana was eventually tasked with finding a suitable replacement for the plastic bags that usually house the fetal remains container.

It was decided that handmade drawstring bags would be appropriate, but Christiana admits that she didn't know how to sew.

Thankfully, she thought of several women in her church who love to sew and are passionate about helping others. Those women immediately took to designing the bags and supplying the materials, spending the summer sewing together at the
church and in their own homes when they had time.

"They're very gifted sewers!" said Christiana, "they were so dedicated to the task. The bags turned out beautiful - 100% cotton and double-lined! I wouldn't have known that before, but they've taught me a lot about sewing over these last three months, even how to hand stitch the little leather tags on, which I did!"

By the end of the summer, Christiana arranged a drop-off of the bags at the hospital, which was gratefully received.

The plan is for the bags to be shared among all 8 Vancouver Island hospitals. Unfortunately, due to the high rate of miscarriages, the bags will only last a year,
according to one of the lead surgeons at the hospital, but Christiana and her group of friends have already begun collecting patterns and materials to make future bags.

Helping improve the care for women who have had a miscarriage at this hospital doesn't take the memory of her own bad experience away, but it does help her find peace with it, knowing that something good has come out of that experience.

And while the bags won't make the grief of pregnancy loss any less for those future women, it will remind them that they are loved and cared for - even by total strangers!

 

^ A reading of the poem 'Ocean Child' by poet Sophia Conway

Ocean Child

Lay your palm upon the ocean and 

Feel

The heartbeat of a spinning sphere

hands that ripple, holding yours

as the sun

Runs

Across the sky and weeps

For kinder days gone by - golden

The teardrops in the sea

And LIFE

the creature's chorus cries to me.

They swim in sunlit coral reefs

And blow their pearl bubbles

Up to me, gasping

LIFE

for me too, please.

My children are not food, PLEASE.

On my dinner plate, I hear

The ocean faraway

Sing in sorrow for its child

Gone

Gone like the days behind

And still,

The galaxies they spin 

And still,

The bells of life they ring.

[Check out the poem on TELEPHONE'S digital exhibition online for the full project]

 

I'm thrilled to finally share that Confluence has officially listed me as one of eight chosen poets for their 2025-26 Fellowship!

I was so touched by the editor, David Green's, email explaining that their choice was based on my relevant essay and strong body of work. I look forward to joining my fellow poets in working to preserve and expand on Japanese short form poetry through several collaborative projects in the year to come.

What is Confluence?
Confluence is a Japanese short-form journal centered on innovation and community. Their mission is to make a significant and lasting contribution to haiku, tanka, and related literary forms by:
Publishing outstanding work that stretches the possibilities of the forms,Providing a venue for emerging poets to showcase a representative sample of their work and receive readership and recognition,Creating a vital, global community of poet Fellows, who collaborate together and engage deeply with one another’s work, andIntroducing Japanese short-form poetry as a vibrant literary form to new readers and writers, outside the current niche of haiku and tanka poets. Read the full announcement here!

 

TELEPHONE, the third international art game of its kind, just dropped its finishing exhibition after 2 years, and I'm ecstatic to share my participation in this unique creative endeavor! 

Firstly, what is TELEPHONE?

"TELEPHONE is a game played by artists. It works like the children’s game of the same name. A message is whispered from person to person and changes and evolves as it is passed from player to player. In our case, we pass a secret message from art form to art form, so a message could become poetry and then painting and then music and then film, throughout all possible forms of art. We also assign each finished work of art to two or three other artists, so the game branches outward exponentially like a family tree.

[This is the third game of TELEPHONE. The first game, developed in partnership with Satellite Collective, was published in 2015 and consisted of 315 artists. That first game was featured in The New York Times. The second game of TELEPHONE was played during the pandemic and published in 2021. It consisted of work by 795 artists.]

This game exhibition consists of 1,395 individual, interconnected and original works by artists from 930 cities in 65 countries. Presented to you here are 1,395 individual works of art. Yet it may well be that, because they are directly based on one another, these 1,395 artists have together created a single work of art. We leave it to your own judgement, but it is possible that TELEPHONE is one work of art, created by artists from 65 countries."

What role did I play?

I was one of many poets/ writers whose portfolio was chosen to participate in their Literature category! For that honor, I am very grateful to the entire team behind this amazing "game".

^ The Proof
Below, my poem, inspired by the art that was sent to me to be "deciphered" and passed on, including a brief profess statement by me on the work.

Ocean Child 


Lay your palm upon the ocean and 
Feel
The heartbeat of a spinning sphere
hands that ripple, holding yours
as the sun
Runs
Across the sky and weeps
For kinder days gone by - golden
The teardrops in the sea
And LIFE
the creature's chorus cries to me.


They swim in sunlit coral reefs
And blow their pearl bubbles
Up to me, gasping
LIFE


for me too, please.
My children are not food, PLEASE.


On my dinner plate, I hear
The ocean faraway
Sing in sorrow for its child
Gone
Gone like the days behind


And still,
The galaxies they spin 
And still,
The bells of life they ring.

Process statement.

I wanted to capture my unfiltered thoughts and first reaction on seeing the artwork, so I only viewed it when I was ready to write about it. Immediately, the poem spilled out onto the page.

As a child, I often wrestled with the ethics around eating animals or their byproducts. This poem explores the emotions and worries that burdened me at that time, and occasionally still.

Check out the full TELEPHONE exhibition online here!

 

Haiku by Sophia Conway, Canada
Saint Markovershadowed by hiscathedral
green webVenetian canals entanglea city
termite hillthousands of miles oftax-free construction

Read the full selection here!

 

Last week, the editor of the PQB News, Philip Wolf, emailed me some interview questions for the local newspaper. The Hope Post, with an emphasis on sharing hope and encouragement locally in the Oceanside area, is the perfect story for a local paper. It's a wonderful opportunity to get the news out about it and invite others to participate!
Thanks to Philip and the PQB News team for getting the word out! Read the full interview here on their website or below.

-

Parksville's 'little red mailbox of hope' designed to spread joy, kindnessChristiana Conway has previously spearheaded effort to write Christmas cards for seniors

Christiana Conway wants to spread a message of joy and hope to residents in the Parksville area.

Conway, who has previously spearheaded an annual effort to have volunteers write Christmas cards for area seniors in care homes, has a new project dubbed the 'little red mailbox of hope', or The Hope Post at the McMillan Arts Centre.

"This mailbox will serve as a drop-off and pick-up point for hopeful and kind cards and letters within the community," said Conway. "People in need of some (or those who know someone who is) can collect and take home a card that might bring them joy. Those who wish to contribute to the mailbox are welcome to do so, as long as their cards and letters spread joy and kindness!"

Conway said the handwritten letters contain positive news, jokes, inspirational quotes, personal encouragement and more.

"I'm very grateful to the MAC for their willingness to be the location for the mailbox (making it both accessible for all and central to Parksville)," she said. "With so much going on in the world right now, a little hope goes a long way."

The plan is to make it a permanent feature at the arts centre. The small red mailbox is located on the raised walkway leading to the entrance of the MAC and is accessible at any time for anyone wishing to pick up a letter or leave one for someone else.

"I believe there will always be individuals in our community who could use a little encouragement during their day," said Conway. "The letters are intended to inspire joy, foster a positive outlook and help people feel less lonely."

She noted the Christmas cards sent to seniors have received such a wonderful response over the past five years that she wanted to find a way to do something similar for the wider community.

"The great thing about this mailbox is that people who need a little lift can hopefully find it while staying anonymous," she explained. "There's no judgment, no names or faces — just little notes of hope, and they can take one as often as they feel they need to. It's also an easy way to involve others who want to be part of something like this. Letter writing isn't hard or time-consuming, and it could make a difference in someone's day. We have a fantastic arts and crafts community here; I'm launching something that I hope others will join me in carrying on."

Despite the many times I've been able to share my poetry with the world, I haven't often had the opportunity to share more on my background, influences, and thoughts. This interview (that just went live!) that I did with Jacob D. Salzer this summer gave me the opportunity to reflect, realize, and share these things!

I so appreciate Jacob's support and all the time he spent researching to prepare such thorough questions!

Check out the interview here.

 

Today was the last day of Shelf Memories at the MAC, and I am so grateful for this amazing experience. From the moment I thought of capturing these stories through pictures, I could not have imagined sharing them with the world through a solo 2-month exhibition (my first photo exhibit of any kind, so WOW, what a way to launch!)
From my meetings and communications with the MAC arts director, Jennifer, and Gallery Curator Andrew, to the supportive arts community that showed up at the launch event and the great feedback gallery visitors gave, I am so encouraged as I continue on my photography journey in the future. 
Thank you to everyone who was a part of this wonderful experience.
Watch a clip of the launch event!
Here's the official write-up of the event!
Watch the full video interview for the exhibit here!

 

Last weekend was the book launch event for 'Someday Somewhere Beautiful', and it wouldn't have gone better! I'm still overwhelmed with gratitude to those who showed up and bought a book, especially my friends who helped make the evening so special; Thomas & Ellie for hosting the evening, fellow poet Ylesha Parrotta for sharing her own original poems, and Jennifer Miller from Crossroads Pregnancy Center for giving us an insight into the amazing work her charity does for local families (don't forget that a percentage of every purchase of my other poetry book, Crumbs & Constellations, goes directly to supporting their work!)

My poetry book continues to be sold on Amazon and by the publisher at Kelsay Books.com

 

Last weekend was the book launch event for 'Someday Somewhere Beautiful', and it wouldn't have gone better! I'm still overwhelmed with gratitude to those who showed up and bought a book, especially my friends who helped make the evening so special; Thomas & Ellie for hosting the evening, fellow poet Ylesha Parrotta for sharing her own original poems, and Jennifer Miller from Crossroads Pregnancy Center for giving us an insight into the amazing work her charity does for local families (don't forget that a percentage of every purchase of my other poetry book, Crumbs & Constellations, goes directly to supporting their work!)

My poetry book continues to be sold on Amazon and by the publisher at Kelsay Books.com