Lynda Scott Araya

I write poetry about grief and, importantly the terrible and, very often, abusive and misogynistic language directed at grieving women, to make people aware that this is not OK; to try to lessen the stigma around suicide and those bereaved by it, and also to offer some advice. In 2022, I was awarded a NZSA (NZ Society of Authors) Mentorship and worked with my mentor, Michaela Nyman, to write a poetic memoir of grief.

Coping With Grief

Poetry from Lynda Scott Araya

To write about grief is not to compose
for there is no way to structure the messy meanness of ‘friends’
who avoid me, say you would be dead if it wasn’t for me,

January 1, 2023