Jessica Antony is a child of Winnipeg’s core. She grew up in south Osborne, went to Gordon Bell High School and the University of Winnipeg (U of W), and she still lives a stone’s throw from it all.

A student of sociology and rhetoric, Antony has made a career of editing. Academic manuscripts have been her bread and butter, but she also teaches academic writing at the U of W.

“I try to make it as exciting as you can potentially make academic writing. It’s not easy.”

Antony is a writer at heart. She was that kid in class who loved reflective essay assignments. Now, she gets her socio-political passion pieces published by the CBC.

A diversified professional, she also writes blog posts and other web content for a variegated roster of commercial clients.

“It’s kind of fun, because a lot of the time, it’s stuff that I know absolutely nothing about. All of a sudden, I get to learn about agriculture or design.”

A few years ago, Antony stumbled into the world of powerlifting. She says she has found her physical niche and a supportive community in this form-focused sport.

“Everyone at the gym is always willing to help or cheering people on. If I compete in April, I think it’ll be my tenth or eleventh competition.”

When she was younger, however, Antony admits she wasn’t the finest athlete.

“I always played team sports through high school, but I was terrible. I was like ‘Well, I’m big, so I can just smash into people.’ It was a really bad approach to sports – I was just an asshole on the field.”

Stella by Starlight

“I fostered her through Manitoba Mutts. I fostered two other dogs before her. The day before she was supposed to go up for adoption, I was like, ‘Nope, she’s mine.’”

Forthright Flora

“It’s one of those plants that tells you. It starts to droop when it’s not feeling good. So I’m like ‘Thank you for letting me know.’”

Corrective Congruence

“That’s my mom. It’s funny. I got a new pair of glasses that looked exactly like that. I put them on, and I saw this picture, and I was like, ‘I’m fully becoming my mom!’ I mean, it’s awesome, because my mom is great.”

Magical Macrame

“When I was younger, my parents were both teachers. My dad is a publisher now, but my mom would teach at the (University of Manitoba), and my dad would stay home with me. While she was out teaching night classes and stuff, he taught himself how to macrame. My mom is like, ‘Why do you want a dusty old macrame?’ I’m like, ‘It’s AMAZING! LOOK at it! DAD made it!’”

Bleating Beauty

“I bought that at a garage sale. I was just like, ‘This is weird, and I like gold,’ so, here we are.”

Fragile Femmes

“Those are from my grandmother. She’s living in an assisted living space now. She was like, ‘Come to my house, let me know what you want.’ I was always fascinated by them.”

Mexican Memento

“My grandmother would winter (in Mexico) on her own after (she) and my grandfather were divorced when in her late 50s, then she lived there full-time up until she was in her late 70s, early 80s. She’s back in Calgary now, but we’ve had the privilege of going to Mexico a number of times because she lived there.”

Published in Volume 73, Number 15 of The Uniter (January 24, 2019)