Fiona Sjaus

Dec 6, 2024 | ubyssey.ca | Aisha Chaudhry |Abbie Lee |Fiona Sjaus

For many, the night is a time of escape and peace, but for the majority of my life, it’s been one of my worst enemies. As a kid, I believed that if I let my eyes shut, I’d awake to everyone gone. There was this dread that would bubble in my throat along with a queasiness in my stomach. The anxiety would make me nauseous and wane my focus. The thoughts consumed my mind and left me jittery and restless. My dad didn’t live with us and only visited a few times a year.

Dec 6, 2024 | ubyssey.ca | Olivia Vos |Sam Low |Fiona Sjaus

My apartment sits at the top of my building. The Penthouse, as my friends call it, looks out across the woods and over the bay. It’s a beautiful view — one I should probably pay more for. One of the things I love about the view is the building across the street. The regal exterior boasts large windows and wood panelling, an unobtrusive landmark compared to my own building’s concrete walls. Through those large windows come small glimpses into my neighbours’ lives.

Dec 6, 2024 | ubyssey.ca | Fiona Sjaus

Clarity is heavier under a lamp lightPassing around swigs of cheap wine,lipstick-stained coffee cupsThe modern feminine zeitgeist:I only get vulnerable halfway through the nightTo pages or a mirror or a someoneAnd a crescent moon for a spotlight.

Dec 6, 2024 | ubyssey.ca | Jessica Poon |Abbie Lee |Fiona Sjaus

My mother believes in God on a part-time basis, but her real religion is watching the news. It’s the morning and People magazine announces John Krasinski as the world’s sexiest man. My mother declares John Krasinski is no George Clooney — his nose is too big. My mother’s aesthetic judgments are casually cruel, dispensed with the frequency of oxygen. I am not in the habit of discussing male pulchritude with the woman I came out of, so I’m mildly surprised when my mother solicits my opinion.

Nov 20, 2024 | ubyssey.ca | Fiona Sjaus

The ancient murals of the Dunhuang desert’s caves came out to play at the Orpheum earlier this month for Grammy and Oscar-winning composer Tan Dun’s Buddha Passion. The UBC Choral Union, University Singers and Vancouver Symphony Orchestra were joined by Dun to perform his six-movement libretto, a work inspired by the philosophical and religious teachings of the Buddha and Dun’s visit to the Dunhuang desert’s ancient cave system, of which the interiors are adorned with artwork of musical motifs.