How Not to Spill

by Jessica Johns

Jessica Johns is a writer of Cree ancestry and a member of Sucker Creek First Nation in Treaty 8 territory in Northern Alberta and is currently living, working, and learning on the traditional territory of the Musqueam, Squamish, and Tsleil-Waututh peoples. Her writing has appeared in SAD Mag, Saltern, Glass Buffalo, Bad Nudes, The Rusty Toque, Cosmonauts Avenue, and Red Rising Magazine. She is the poetry editor for PRISM international, a Room magazine collective member, and is a co-organizer of the Indigenous Brilliance reading series.

Genres: Poetry, Indigenous, Canada

39 pages, Unknown Binding

First published December 5, 2018

About the author

Jessica Johns, Cree writer from Canada, is a nehiyaw-English-Irish aunty and member of Sucker Creek First Nation in Northern Alberta.

Reviews

[Jane · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a gorgeous book! Every line is a fibre of love for each family member or loved one, for the Cree language, for the land, for the water. That love is always complicated and multilayered.

I especially love "Worst Kind of Woman," which pulls so many different experiences together so effortlessly and powerfully.

A must-read.

[Leah Horlick · Rating 5 out of 5]

The entirety of this book is gorgeous - poems, illustrations, the classic Rahila's Ghost chapbook format - and most of all, Jessica Johns' luminous, unflinching vision of Indigenous futures and Cree future ancestors. The standout poem for me is "KOKUM IS SO METAL," which is both a truth that should be universally acknowledged and the greatest title of all time.

[Jordana Raine-Spak · Rating 5 out of 5]

I’ve read poetry before. It’s always been there, in the back of my mind, needling and twisting, sometimes slow, sometimes with more urgency. Poetry is what made me think, made me feel all those feelings I couldn’t feel. Poetry is what I turned to for myself, the way I expressed the feelings that gnawed and tore myself apart.

Jessica Johns’ poetry reminded me of that little girl. Reminded of the woman I was this past year, so damaged and flawed, and lost. I had to unlearn a lot this year and poetry is how I did that. Poetry is where I found myself again. I’ve already decided that I wanted to read a poetry book in 2025, and I had thought this book would be the one I would read, the one I would pore over. But I decided to read it while waiting for my cheesecake to cool to room temperature and I’m glad I did.

[emperorcupcake · Rating 4 out of 5]

"It's a boring sadness" god if that doesn't describe every day spent scrolling on social media idk what does. I've been spending my time trying to break this boring sadness with books. It's working.

I'm not sure how to process or, god forbid, rate poetry, but 4 stars seems right. Just because leaving it unrated seems wrong, like I didn't appreciate it. I enjoyed this. Looking forward to reading more from Jessica Johns after this and Bad Cree, the imagery in her writing is so striking and nice.

Not logging the date since I don't want to count something this short towards my reading goal, but I read this on 7-24-23.

[Kevin Halasz · Rating 5 out of 5]

This poems in this chapbook are beautiful, mind-turning, and often laugh-out-loud hilarious. The way they are arranged into four sections, each introduced by a minimal yet meaningful illustration and portion of the book’s stunning final poem, really ties what were already amazing stand alone pieces into a single, stunning work of art. I’ve quite enjoyed all of the Rahila’s Ghost Press chap books I’ve read so far, but this one just might be the best yet.

[df parizeau · Rating 5 out of 5]

Stunning. So much depth is explored across this lovely volume of poems.

[Malou · Rating 4 out of 5]

4,5*

[Laura Sackton · Rating 4 out of 5]

It turns out I love chapbooks.

[Bug · Rating 5 out of 5]

bluets ref & a clarice lispector ref … made for me

[Jason · Rating 5 out of 5]

"let them be beautiful / & pay attention"