“Poetry Corner” is an IGTV Series Featuring emerging poets in our community. Todays session features Katie Yoner

Katie Yoner is an actor and a poet currently studying in the University of Alberta BFA Acting program. Prior to this, she has also studied acting and poetry at Lancaster University in England and the University of Calgary. Katie began performing spoken word poetry two years ago and since then has received gold in five city slams, performed in Lancaster, Dublin, and Calgary and has been published in literary journals such as Lida, NoD, and Flash Magazine. Her most recent credits include: Katherine Howard (LU), Ya Burnt! (Ignite), A Dragony Tale (Commonground), and Loose Moose Theatre.  

Below is the written copy of Katie’s poem. Her performance can be found on our instagram page.

Funny

After ‘Rape Joke’ by Patricia Lockwood

The funniest part is, I thought the first person to say it was talking about my baby pictures. Which were framed and hung in the hallway behind them. This friend of his I didn’t even know was all​ I saw your photos​ and I looked at the wall.

The funniest part is that he had cried a few days before on my shoulder and told me he feels like he ruins everything. Like he was already setting up the punchline. See that’s funny, because you hardly ever get foreshadowing in real life.

The funniest part is I had asked him to hold my phone.

The funniest part is that a group of girls took me upstairs and said I should be flattered about it. Like god, those pictures were great. Aren’t you happy? ​I’m jealous,​ they said. And they all looked at me at once. Like open hands and bruises.

When I said nothing, they said I shouldn’t have had such an easy passcode. (Ha!) The funniest part is that I changed it after.

The funniest part is that it was his party at my house. Because I was seventeen, but the kind of seventeen that nods a lot. The kind that dreams she’s screaming and nothing comes out. I used to wake up hollow, whispering into the pillow to know that I could still make sound.

Oh, this is good: I made him supper once and he joked that he’d cook for me but never did. Then he passed photos of me around my dinner table.

The funniest part is that he was my best friend.

It gets better though; I never actually saw him do it. I was in the bathroom helping a drunk girl while he showed my body to everyone like a naked paper doll. Like a flopping empty suit. Like I was separate from it.

The funniest part was that I felt like that for months.

The funniest part is he left his university hoodie behind and I washed it. And then I folded it perfectly, twice.

The funniest part is that everyone was looking at me. Looking at my sides and ass and skin and ribs and smiling like they knew the joke. Like it was an inside joke. Like the joke was inside me.

Their laughs were like spitting bones back.

I told everyone to leave and some of them did but most of them didn’t so I took out the trash instead and cried in the alleyway.

The funniest part is that he took me to Denny’s a week later but never apologized. His friends said he wasn’t the type to. He was hurting. He made a joke about it all nervous, and I laughed.

The funniest part is that I laughed.

We hope you enjoyed this poem, and incredible emerging artist in our community. We know we did. If you are also an emerging artist looking to showcase your work, we will always except you with open arms. All you have to do is contact us below!