Exhibitionist is dedicated to “the young people who feel so embarrassed, all the time,” says author Molly Cross-Blanchard of her debut poetry collection. “There were so many things about myself that I was (am) ashamed of… but now these are the things that feed my writing, and I really just want to lay it all on the table because it’s liberating to not have any secrets that stem from shame… I started writing into that discomfort and people responded positively to it. And it just felt so good to release the shame.” 

Molly is a white and Métis writer and editor born on Treaty 3 territory (Fort Frances, ON), raised on Treaty 6 territory (Prince Albert, SK), and living on the unceded territory of the Musqueam, Squamish, and Tsleil-Waututh peoples (Vancouver, BC). She holds an English BA from the University of Winnipeg and a Creative Writing MFA from the University of British Columbia, and is the publisher of Room magazine. 

Exhibitionist is a collection of smart, raunchy poems that oscillate between a complete rejection of shame and the consuming heaviness of it. Author Mallory Taylor describes the book as “sticky, sad, and sultry… a merry-go-round circling back to the tender, awkward parts of ourselves”, and Amber Dawn encourages us to “read her poems first to marvel at the well-crafted voicing of sexuality. Read a second time to appreciate Cross-Blanchard’s beautiful charge of juxtaposition.  

Molly is supported by Author Patron Steve Page.

Book: https://chbooks.com/Books/E/Exhibitionist

Appearing in:
13. Brazen Tongues: Celebrating the Unashamed Self