iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Chantel Renee Daniels @chanteldaniels.bsky.social · 21/08/2026

THIS SATURDAY (August 22nd) at SYNONYM cafe in Hamilton, Ontario with my poet pal Author Vanessa Shields 😊❤️ Readings, books for sale - come out and say hi, Hamilton-area peeps! #CanadianPoet #Poetry #ApocalypseGriefManual #Writer #WeTheMourners

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Chantel Renee Daniels @chanteldaniels.bsky.social · 05/08/2026

Saturday, August 8th from 12-3 PM, I'll be at Allison the Bookman's in my hometown (one of them, lol) of North Bay, Ontario for an author meet and greet! 📚😊❤️ #CanadianPoet #SelfPublished #WhatThePoetsAreDoing #Poetry #PoetryCommunity

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Chantel Renee Daniels @chanteldaniels.bsky.social · 17/07/2026

I'll be at the Word On The Street festival in Toronto September 26-27th, 2026! The Word On The Street Toronto – Canada's Largest Literary Festival share.google/vxXcEHacZpoK... #Poetry #SelfPublished #CanadianPoet #ApocalypseGriefManual #WhatThePoetsAreDoing

Attention fans of gut-wrenching, funny, and foul-mouthed poetry - two poets, two debut collections, one microbooth!

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Chantel Renee Daniels @chanteldaniels.bsky.social · 11/06/2026

APOCALYPSE GRIEF MANUAL is officially IN STORE at Take Cover Books in Peterborough, ON!! 🎇❤️📚 You can order online from them (see link below), go in and browse or reach out directly to me for your copy! share.google/NUrkqdYWVRYO... #apocalypsegriefmanual #poetrycollection #nexttoleonardcohen

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Chantel Renee Daniels @chanteldaniels.bsky.social · 08/06/2026

Post-book launch, the biggest thanks are owed. My collection is not just an inventory of poetry about trauma and challenge, but a celebration of who I am today, and how well I am standing, because of YOU. ❤️ #poetry #canadianpoet #apocalypsegriefmanual #selfpublished

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Chantel Renee Daniels @chanteldaniels.bsky.social · 02/06/2026

A little spoken word teaser - wanna know how it ends?? 😁 Book launch this Thursday, June 4th, 2026, at Take Cover Books in Peterborough, Ontario from 7-9 PM!! Link to event: www.facebook.com/share/1J4qN8... #SelfPublished #CanadianPoet #Poetry #BookLaunch #ApocalypseGriefManual

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Chantel Renee Daniels @chanteldaniels.bsky.social · 20/05/2026

I wrote this poem because I wanted to acknowledge all of the hard work/multiple humans involved in my debut collection - because "self-published" is a misnomer. I could NOT have done any of this without the support of my amazing editors/mentors Vanessa Shields, Richard Scarsbrook and Sandra Ridley.

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Chantel Renee Daniels @chanteldaniels.bsky.social · 13/05/2026

Wednesdays are usually the worst, especially rainy Wednesdays - but not today! 😊😊😊 I just found out that my poetry collection has been longlisted for the Whistler Independent Book Awards! Shortlist announcement on June 13th! #SelfPublished #CanadianPoet #Poetry #IndieAuthor #ApocalypseGriefManual

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Chantel Renee Daniels @chanteldaniels.bsky.social · 02/05/2026

Apocalypse Grief Manual Pre-Order Reminder and Special Offer! Pre-order with payment before June 1st and receive a coupon for a custom poem, by me! Follow this link: tinyurl.com/mjkkba2j 😊 #SelfPublished #CanadianPoet #Poetry #IndieAuthor #ApocalypseGriefManual

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Chantel Renee Daniels @chanteldaniels.bsky.social · 13/04/2026

It's not until June, but let the shameless self-publishing, self-promoting begin! 🎉😊❤️ 2 Poets, 2 Debut Collections, 1 Night www.facebook.com/share/1E1A7s... #poetry #indieauthor #selfpublished #poetryofinstagram #debutcollection

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Chantel Renee Daniels @chanteldaniels.bsky.social · 04/03/2026

I’m so excited to share the cover of my debut collection of poetry “Apocalypse Grief Manual,” available to order at: tinyurl.com/mjkkba2j. Cover Art: Sean Daniels #CanLit #CdnPoetry #DebutCollection #IndieAuthor #WritingCommunity #BookSky #CoverReveal #PoetryRelease #OrderNow #SelfPublishedAuthor

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Chantel Renee Daniels @chanteldaniels.bsky.social · 14/01/2026

Read an article about congenital blindness as a protective factor against schizophrenia, which made me think about all of the terrible news we see every day and its impact on our brains, so I wrote a poem about it. #NoHumanIsIllegal #Poetry #ForGoodandKind

For Good, and Kind by Chantel Daniels

according to science that
I’m definitely dumbing down
people born without sight
are never found
to develop schizophrenia
scientists don't know for sure
but suggest brain changes
alter sensory processing
potentially strengthening
executive function
and prediction mechanisms

as a poet with a
social science degree
my predictions agree
- the executive functions
are indeed contributory
and by executive functions
I’m speaking partly, of course
about the orange despot
and his icy hench-force

perhaps those without sight
are spared some of the damage
that chips at our souls
when we witness the ravage
that those of his ilk reap onto others
- would the calls for their mothers
hit nearly as hard
if you couldn’t see
the breathless black man, Renee’s SUV
or the tiny remains
of a toddler refugee?

nah, friend, I’m just taking
creative liberty
trying to find something poetic
when in reality
the ones who can’t see
aren’t protected
it’s the ones who won’t see humanity
we’ve elected

but I didn’t vote for him!
you protest
I didn’t fan the flames of unrest…
- save it -
as a Canadian and
a woman to boot
I can tell you for sure that your
ballot is moot
we all know it didn’t start
with Ross’s decision to shoot

it started when you laughed
at the world’s meanest joke
it started when you called it bad
to be woke
it started on the elementary
school bus
you were all awake that day
but made zero fuss
when a bully eighth grader
made a little kid cry
this started with not defending
the defenseless little guy

when you don’t believe women
when you won’t call him, he
when you won’t legislate their love
just where they can pee

fuck your votes
fuck your violence
fuck your aggressive passivity
fuck your refusal to understand
that it’s not the blind who don’t see

it’s you and it’s him
those supporting the hate
so smug they’ll avoid a similar fate
but it’s not just all us
woke fucks who’ll suffer
the freedom you revere’s
a temporary buffer
because eventually they’ll come
for the rest of you, too
do you want us to help
or just admire the view?

in closing I’ll repeat - I’m no scientist
but I think that I’ve got
the congenital gist
the damage is caused not by
what we see or don’t see
the executive dysfunction’s
a failure to be

kind

(why can’t you just be kind)

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Chantel Renee Daniels @chanteldaniels.bsky.social · 04/01/2026

Happy New Year 🎊❤️☺️ A Poem for 2024 That I Didn’t Finish Until New Year’s Eve 2025 by Chantel Daniels #poetry #poetrycommunity #poetrylovers #poet #writer #happynewyear2026 #ifyoubuildit

A Poem for 2024 That I Didn’t Finish Until New Year’s Eve 2025 by Chantel Daniels

I start out on a ladder and on roller skates
I go from grey to white to black
tear down then start to build back up
and go to Ikea with my siblings
in February I start dancing
visiting little free libraries
think about making my own, never do it
because I get caught up
in poetry, picture frames, on poles
then pause in April for a solar eclipse
pause again in June to wait for the darkness to pass
so we can finally take off our sunglasses
then the soft autumn light becomes the perfect backdrop
for hearing an idol's voice as the leaves fall
and the wind chills my hands, making them
let go
of what makes me stronger but might kill me
making me turn back to the ladder
and think about building, again
which I do
daily, weekly and monthly
until another whole year has passed
and I’m another year older
now four years sober
new worries, more poetry
same skates
saying goodbye to 2025
and getting back on the ladder
because I know
what happens
if I build it
in 2026

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Chantel Renee Daniels @chanteldaniels.bsky.social · 12/08/2025

THIS THURSDAY, AUGUST 14: POETRY Open Mic @Dreams of Beans in Peterborough, ON A chance to read old work, new work, or in progress stuff! Prep for slamming, or just read for the joy/catharsis of it!! $5 or PWYC ❤️ 7:00 PM sign up 7:30 PM event starts Artwork by Sean Daniels ❤️ #poetry #openmic

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Chantel Renee Daniels @chanteldaniels.bsky.social · 03/04/2025

I received an Ontario Arts Council Recommender Grant for 2025!! Huge thank you to @latitude46pub.bsky.social for the vote of confidence in my current project!! 🖤⭐ #writer #author #poet #poetry #ontarioartscouncil #ontario #poetrycollection #poetrycommunity

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Chantel Renee Daniels @chanteldaniels.bsky.social · 03/04/2025

This month's "Remember Why You Wrote It!" Poetry Open Mic is next week, Thursday April 10th - sign up at 7, event starts at 7:30! #poetry #openmic #PoetryCommunity #PoetryLovers #writers #writerscommunity #internationalpoetrymonth #rememberwhyyouwroteit Artwork: Sean Daniels ❤️

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Chantel Renee Daniels @chanteldaniels.bsky.social · 09/12/2024

While I didn't make the @pulpliterature.bsky.social Kingfisher Poetry Prize shortlist, I'm still thrilled to have had my own work listed alongside the talented writers who progressed to the next stage. My longlisted poem below is part of my second collection (unpublished and looking for a home).

Metaphor
by Chantel Daniels

if you think about it long enough
everything’s a metaphor for anxiety
consider a Magic Eye picture (circa 1993)

assume the stance, squint theatrically
find the hidden image eventually
anyone can do it

everyone but me

and if that isn't an analogy
for a lack of perspective
then I don't know what else it could be

because what is anxiety
if not being able to see
something objectively

so regardless of how often I’m told
it’s an elephant, an Xmas tree
all I see is a graphic mess

spelling D-O-O-M for me

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Chantel Renee Daniels @chanteldaniels.bsky.social · 03/12/2024

So excited that I made the @pulpliterature.bsky.social Kingfisher Poetry Prize longlist!! Official announcement here: pulpliterature.com/announcing-t... #poetrycommunity #poetrycommunityofinstagram #poetry #poems #poem #writing #writer #author #poet

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Chantel Renee Daniels @chanteldaniels.bsky.social · 22/11/2024

Super jazzed to be published today by the The League of Canadian Poets 😁😁😁 Thanks very much for the opportunity ❤️ #poem #poetry #author #writer #poetrycommunity

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Chantel Renee Daniels @chanteldaniels.bsky.social · 17/11/2024

bsky.app/profile/tbq.... Fuck it 😎❤️

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