Mahaila Smith’s narrative poetry collection, Seed Beetle, is a gorgeous little package wrapped around a compelling story of climate loss, corporate “saviors,” and human community. I love the way Mahaila structured the collection, with an introductory foreword that immediately grounded me in the story while setting up a larger-than-life character. The sweep of the story feels epic, almost mythical. Each poem brings another grain of understanding, building a complex world. I especially loved one of the final pieces, “Seed Beetle Futures.” The collection is available for pre-order now from Stelliform Press, with shipment scheduled in May.
Thanks to Mahaila for taking time to answer my questions!
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MYNA: Tell us about Seed Beetle! What can readers expect?
MAHAILA: Seed Beetle is a narrative in verse told through the compilation of the protagonist Nebula Armis’ poems. Readers can expect a near future southern Ontario with a desertified landscape, big robot beetles, tiny brain implants, eels, queer rep, a celebration of poetry and labour revolt.
MYNA: When a reader finishes the last word in the book, what emotion will they be feeling?
MAHAILA: The last word in the book is “navigate.” I hope that readers will be left with the feeling of love for their home, and with hope and inspiration for fostering care-centred communities.
MYNA: I love the structure and scope of the narrative in Seed Beetle. How did you approach the writing? Did the collection turn out the way you planned, or were there big changes along the way?
MAHAILA: Initially, I set out to write a traditional poetry collection, connected by similar themes, but no overarching story. Then as I was writing more of my poems about robotic seed beetles, I started to see it as a connected narrative and began writing more poems about the characters from Nebula, her mother Gemma and the seed beetles’ perspectives.
Cover art by Julia Louise Pereira
MYNA: Please tell us about your gorgeous cover art!
MAHAILA: The cover art was created by the incredibly talented Julia Louise Pereira, who also created the gorgeous illustrations inside the book. In my head, I imagined the cover featuring a patent figure of a Seed Beetle (one of the big robots) and suggested that to my publisher and editor, Selena Middleton. My mum was a patent agent and I grew up using her recycling for my drawing and colouring paper, so patent figures are nostalgic for me. I am so thrilled with how it turned out and very excited to have a purple cover; purple has always been my favourite.
MYNA: How would you describe your writing style, in general?
MAHAILA: I have been told that my work is able to convey a lot of feeling and worldbuilding in few words. I take that as highest praise; that is always something I’m trying to do.
MYNA: How do you stay motivated?
MAHAILA: In the past year I began using 4thewords—an online RPG writing game—and that has kept me motivated to meet my daily word count. I also meet weekly with a few other writers to write together, which has been very inspiring.
MYNA: Tell us about other recent accomplishments or share some happy news with us!
MAHAILA: In October 2024, I won the John Newlove award for my poem, “Ugly, Red: A Cento.” As part of the award, I will be publishing a poetry chapbook with Bywords. The collection will have a narrative, like Seed Beetle. This time I’m telling a survival story set in a wintery forest landscape with an ever-present fungal foe. It is tentatively titled, After all this hurt.
MYNA: Do you have non-writing hobbies/activities? Show us a picture!
MAHAILA: I am an obsessive crocheter! Here a picture of a temperature blanket I finished last year, marking the daily high temperatures. I went in aiming to crochet a line for each day of the year but it got way too long—so it’s more like 10 months worth of blanket. I also love to crochet garments and usually wear something I’ve made every day.
MYNA: What’s next for you?
MAHAILA: Besides my chapbook with Bywords, I have a few poems that are set to come out this year! I will do my best to keep my website updated with all those things as they release :).
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Mahaila Smith (they/them) is a researcher, poet and editor based on the traditional territory of the Algonquin Anishinabeg in Ottawa, Ontario. Their novelette in verse, Seed Beetle, is forthcoming with Stelliform Press. Their recent chapbooks include Water-Kin (Metatron Press 2024) and Enter the Hyperreal (above/ground press 2024). You can find their work on their website at mahailasmith.ca.
Seed Beetle is available for preorder now from the Stelliform Bookstore!
Myna Chang 