<![CDATA[Stories by Silvia Canton Rondoni on Medium]]> https://medium.com/@poetsilviacantonrondoni?source=rss-c0f00d627796------2 https://cdn-images-1.medium.com/fit/c/150/150/1*jI5VlvZGx_PuT6ncS7EhZw.png Stories by Silvia Canton Rondoni on Medium https://medium.com/@poetsilviacantonrondoni?source=rss-c0f00d627796------2 Medium Tue, 19 May 2026 08:33:41 GMT <![CDATA[Aching]]> https://poetsilviacantonrondoni.medium.com/aching-cb7917e00698?source=rss-c0f00d627796------2 https://medium.com/p/cb7917e00698 Fri, 18 Jun 2021 04:19:47 GMT 2021-06-18T04:19:47.264Z GiaB Writing Prompt #22 Intimacy
Aching. A Reflection on Grief. Illustration and collage, 2019 Copyright Silvia Canton Rondoni. All Rights Reserved.

Staying in touch

screens dwell in-between

my hands reaching out

your hands stalling

for you are no more

nor are we

Losing touch

deep within reality

my soul abides

our deep synchronicity

for you are evermore

and so are we

Silvia Canton Rondoni

Poem written after losing a close friend in 2019 to a sudden bicycle accident. Aching is about grieving for the intimacy we found and lost so suddenly.

Writers that might enjoy contributing to GiaB Writing Prompt Challenge: Margaret Pan Kat Clay Annmarie McQueen Tamara Naidoo Eileen Vorbach Collins Fiona Wright

]]> <![CDATA[How Did I Get Here? The Story behind Stark Naked]]> https://poetsilviacantonrondoni.medium.com/how-did-i-get-here-19d4ac343bbd?source=rss-c0f00d627796------2 https://medium.com/p/19d4ac343bbd Tue, 15 Jun 2021 05:55:38 GMT 2021-06-15T08:08:34.232Z Seven years ago I was abused at work. Repeatedly. The first time was subtle, my Spanish-born ass was fired and immediately replaced with an Anglo-saxon equivalent. I wasn’t that attached to that particular role, so I didn’t think much of it. The second time, three months later, was after a manager commented that ‘there was a language barrier between us.’ A not-so subtle reference to my non-English speaking background. I spoke to HR and my complaint was dismissed because she (the manager) was pregnant ‘and obviously hormonal’ as well as racist. After that I refused to stay and I moved on. The third time came about after a misunderstanding with a Kiwi co-worker. I am not a conflictive person and I approached her a couple of days later to check on her. I asked: “Are you OK?” and her answer to that was unexpected: “Who the !@#$ you think you are, you !@#$ing wog!” She continued to yell at me throughout the office with everyone watching while I had a panic attack. The next day I was fired. Misconduct dismissal.

Within a year I had lost my career and decided to enrol at university. Writing kept me sane and I wanted to take it seriously. It wasn’t long until I became part of my writers’ community and, little by little, my self-confidence started to recover. While studying, I published a handful of short stories I sent to submission calls, until I received my first commission in 2019. That was the same year I coordinated the Australian Shadows Awards for the Australasian Horror Writers Association, and I was invited to Geyser Con (New Zealand’s 40th National Science Fiction and Fantasy Convention) and Continuum, (Australia’s 58th National Science Fiction and Fantasy Convention). I was over the moon, working on my new story, when something happened.

The body of a close friend of mine was found in a harbour in Hawaii. A stupid accident with his bicycle, the thing he loved most, had been the end of him. His sudden passing was a wave that rippled through every part of my life, making me reconsider every single choice I had ever made. I could not write fiction and I dropped out my commission with a heartfelt apology to the editors that had entrusted me with it. I could not breathe where I was and I booked myself a ticket to London to visit a friend for a couple of weeks. There seemed to be no way to soothe my grief, nor the anger I felt for everything I have never said and done. That was when I started writing poetry. At Geyser Con (the convention in NZ) a publisher asked about my work and I had to admit fiction was out of the table. Poetry was all I could write. He was curious and asked for a sample. Before I knew it, I was signing and putting together my first poetry collection with the poems that kept pouring out of me. Stark Naked was released by IFWG Publishing Australia just a few weeks ago.

How did I get here? I was thrown out of my 9 to 5 existence because I am different, and then life happened. So I embraced all that grief, anger, and pain, and made something beautiful out of it.

Who am I? I am a Spanish-born Australian poet and writer. First generation immigrant to access university, get published in a third language, and identify as neurodivergent and LGBTIQAP+ A minority within a minority within a minority, and proud of every part of it.

What am I doing here? I am using Medium to create a time capsule where I can share my stories, celebrate my achievements and dream out loud about what’s to come. New projects, conventions and more coming soon. Stay tuned ^^

SCR

Available through Book Depository and major book shops worldwide (print only)

Stark Naked is Silvia Canton Rondoni’s intense personal journey. These reflections reveal her transition from childhood through grief and trauma, to the woman of resilience she is today. Illustrated by Silvia Nieto in close collaboration with the poet, her artwork adds visual soul and compliments a collection filled with raw emotion and brutal honesty.

ISBN: 9781922556103
ISBN-10: 1922556106
Format: Paperback
Language: English
Number Of Pages: 52
Published: 1st June 2021
Dimensions (cm): 21.59 x 13.97

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