Fransivan MacKenzie
A Storyteller
Departures (2021)
D E P A R T U R E S is a collection of short stories about living, loving, and leaving. It is a book that untangles the word abandonment only to find shreds of true love in the knots. This book translates death to entrances, exit roads to the way home, and exodus to long-awaited returns.
Made up of tales of goodbyes, hellos, and everything in between, this collection aims to anatomize loss and examine what's inside it – a beating heart that knows nothing but love, a rotting cadaver, or perhaps something special that only you can name. In simpler terms,
D E P A R T U R E S is an endeavor to make grief sing.
This book covers several themes that may be distressing to some readers (e.g. sexual abuse, self-harm, substance abuse, and suicide). Reader's discretion is advised.
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Out of the Woods (2020)
Out of the Woods is a mystifying wanderer's tale told in different voices. It contains the whims of people held captive by their miseries, their courage to seek peace at all cost, and their fragile hold of serenity after a long journey on winding roads. Exploring highly stigmatized topics in the society, this poetry and prose collection dares to expose the horrors that happen in the safest of places and the heaven that can be plucked out of the darkness.
This chapbook acknowledges that we are all shackled by things we would rather not talk about — that home, sometimes, is where the hurt is; that escaping is more on where you are running to than what you are running from; and that freedom is not in the yawn of a highway but in the cavern of a forgiving palm.
Reader's discretion is advised.
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The fact that the author can masterfully juggle all of these unique voices shows her maturity in crafting storylines, even in verse. The author should also be commended for daring to tackle topics such as sexual assault and drug-taking sensitively, a great feat for a young writer...This was certainly a stunning debut, and I heartily recommend this book for contemporary poetry lovers and readers fond of gripping storylines that draw them in.
- Thee Sim Ling, Singapore
Praise & Reviews
for
Out of the Woods
...a lovingly crafted book, lyrical and heartbreaking in all the right ways. Every poem and story...builds a world that's all too real, all too deep, and all too personal. It's easy to see the care, time, and heart that went into creating such a touching journey. It's true what they say, poets do bleed, and this book is a proof that it can be delivered in a beautiful way.
- Janie Atkinson, USA
...an incredibly strong and well-written debut...It made me cry and smile and rage. The poet has a real talent for reaching inside the reader's chest and making them feel and experience the story as well.
- Sudiksha Karthika, India
About
Fransivan MacKenzie is a nineteen-year-old storyteller born and raised in the Philippines. She is the author of Out of the Woods and Departures. Her works also appeared in Germ Magazine, Transition Magazine, The Racket, Jaden Magazine, Abandon Journal, CP Quarterly Review, and elsewhere. She is currently taking her Master's degree in Counseling Psychology at Philippine Normal University - Manila. She loves warm coffee and quiet mornings, the fragility of flowers, and the dizzying vastness of the nightsky.