On Remembrance Day, 2022, the author ended up in the ER with what was eventually diagnosed as blood clots. This diagnosis resulted in a two-week hospital stay that overlooked Vancouver’s Davie Street Village and the night life landscapes of his youth. Blood Clot Banana Bag delves into perceptions of luck and fortune, but also grief and survivor’s guilt, and the privilege of universal health care, all through the lens of the author’s trademark humour and exacting details.
“Banana Bag” refers to the nickname medical workers give to the IV bags – which are tinged yellow from electrolytes, and hang above patients in a manner similar to banana bunches. Each bag costs $600.
As a poet, he is intrigued by what’s left to confess, what needs to be said. How should one contribute in a world so prone to contamination?