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Laura Upton had grown comfortable being behind the scenes as the Production Editor of Swell magazine, but after being re-diagnosed with a rare cancer, she knew she wanted to start creating again. With the encouragement of tattooer Brian Finn and editor Steph Boezi, Upton began writing poetry exploring grief, healing, and transformation that became a collective poetry project called “Offerings”.
“Offerings” includes poems by Upton, which explore life with cancer through themes of water and mythology. Alongside Upton’s poems are Finn’s illustrations– some originally created for this project and some previously existing as tattoo designs. Boezi, based in Rhode Island, served as the editor, fine-tuning Upton’s words and bringing the project together.
Throughout her cancer journey, Upton has turned to water as a place of healing through swimming, walking saltwater shores with friends, and immersing herself in each of the Great Lakes. Upton said water offers nurturing, but is also an abyss, much like grief.
“We don’t know that much about what lives in the abyss of the oceans, or even the Great Lakes are kind of scary sometimes, but that’s kind of life in itself,” Upton said. “There are these soft parts and these really terrifying parts.”
One of the illustrations by Brian Finn that is included in “Offerings”.
Finn, who tattoos out of Sanctuary Tattoo in Maumee, has been featured several times on NPR for his healing through art initiatives. Finn comes in on his day off to provide free or reduced cost tattoos to cover up scars caused by trauma. Because of this work, Upton knew she wanted his illustrations to accompany her poems, which are designed to provide healing through another medium.
“He is covering up the mental scars of what I’m experiencing, but on paper,” Upton said.
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As she worked on this project, Upton would write a poem each night and then wake up each morning to type it up. She said the process gave her something else to focus on as she navigated cancer.
“I can just get it all out and move on,” she said.
Upton said the project is “for anybody who likes poetry, likes nature, likes tattoo art” and for “anybody who doesn’t want to feel alone in their grief, in their feelings of, ‘There is this big thing I have, how do I face it?’”
The team plans to have the project published by the end of the year. It is available for pre-order on their Patreon page (patreon.com/cw/Offerings).
