New Books Network Margo LaPierre, "Ajar" (Guernica Editions, 2025)
Feb 1, 2026
Margo LaPierre, a poet and freelance literary editor with an MFA from UBC, reads from Ajar (Guernica, 2025). She talks about writing openly about bipolar psychosis, the book's visceral sensory imagery, and the craft choices behind centos and revision. Conversations also touch on fertility, bisexuality and suicide risk, and how motherhood and recovery reshape the poems.
AI Snips
Chapters
Books
Transcript
Episode notes
Coming Out About Diagnosis
- Margo LaPierre began keeping her bipolar diagnosis private for years due to stigma and job concerns.
- After publishing her first book she chose to speak openly and destigmatize mental illness through her work.
Ajar As Porous Threshold
- Margo chose Ajar because it evokes being open, porous, and tilted toward another reality.
- She links the word to its Gaelic root meaning "turn or tilt," framing psychosis as doorway-like.
Revision As Precision Tool
- Revise aggressively: strip, pare back, and interrogate every word to find precision.
- Use messy, expansive drafting as the "lube" that gets you to a tighter final poem.
