Jesse O’Reilly-Conlin

Jesse O’Reilly-Conlin

I am an elliptical and a lyrical writer with a strong political sensibility. I work with image, symbol, and metaphor. I build with juxtaposition. These are my narrative building blocks.

I write about movement—of all types. Movement is fundamental to and inseparable from the human experience. And after visiting one hundred countries, I believe in its sacredness more than ever, in its ability to foster wisdom, compassion, and empathy. Movement pays little philosophical respect to borders and walls and passports. It recognizes that a world exists outside my own personal one; communities of human beings breathe and laugh and love outside my house, town, city, and country. And they, too, demand reverence.

Movement, for me, is about honouring and acknowledging and respecting connection. It is about accepting the interconnectedness of all things, debunking the myth of the individual, and rejecting the tenets of isolation and fear. It is about learning about other people in ethical ways. It is about valuing and protecting difference. Respecting movement also means respecting hospitality. It is about bearing witness to injustice and suffering and working to eradicate them in solidarity with those affected. It is about listening to critical words without succumbing to defensiveness.

Movement humbles as well as challenges and changes. In an age of nationalism, movement must encourage empathy because empathy is revolutionary. Thanks for dropping by,

Jesse O’Reilly-Conlin