This article is part of a series focusing on the grads of the AV俱乐部 Fall Class of 2025. Read all our profiles here in one place as they are published.
Nora Riemersma (they/she) chose to move to Halifax to attend AV俱乐部 for 鈥渢he convenience of a bigger city and the charm of a small community.鈥� While they did find that here, they also faced some significant struggles.
鈥淚 grew up pretty religious and felt a culture shock as I suddenly had full freedom to explore my queerness in its entirety,鈥� says Nora, who grew up in a small rural community in Colchester County.
Nora, who is fully deaf in one ear and partially deaf in the other, says her move also meant losing immediate access to her biggest disability advocates: her parents.
Overwhelmed with this massive shift in all factors of their life, Nora decided to take a break from university to find their footing. When they returned to Dal a few years later, they landed on a better path.
鈥淲hen I came back, I found that my writing classes helped me work through many of these emotions and all of these variations of myself,鈥� says Nora, who graduates this week from the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences with a Bachelor of Arts with double major in English and Creative Writing.
They also found teachers and peers they could rely on.
鈥淢y professors guided me through artistic references and research-creation practices that I could use as springboards to delve into these themes that I used to find too daunting or all-consuming. Through my classes, I also found like-minded people whose work I admired, and we to this day have been able to keep each other accountable in pushing our writing practices further.鈥澨�
A fascination for language
听
Nora started her studies with an open mind, adopting the view that she might get a degree in 鈥渟omething supposedly more sensible鈥� than writing, but she found she just looked forward to her English classes.
鈥淥nce I started taking classes in Creative Writing, I felt a click that hadn鈥檛 existed previously,鈥� she says. 听鈥淚 got to revisit stories I had been wanting to write for so long and was shown how to propel my voice into genres and forms I had never considered before.鈥�
Born partially deaf, Nora says they鈥檝e always been fascinated by the English language and 鈥渉ow it feels when spoken, when heard, and when read silently.鈥�
鈥淚鈥檝e always been pitting words against each other, seeing how they react on those different levels,鈥� says Nora, recalling in their early teenaged years when they were writing sermons. 鈥淚n a way, those sermons were my first efforts at research-creation: I would work on a hay farm all day, then in the evenings I would combine my observations from the day with my readings, trying to express the complicated emotions I was feeling but couldn鈥檛 yet understand.鈥�
Nora says the variety of classes they took at Dal 鈥渁llowed me to try my hand at different sectors of the writing and publishing industry, giving me a variety of experiences while also building my confidence in my abilities.鈥�
Nora adds that their degree 鈥渨ould have been nowhere near the amazing experience it was鈥� without the guidance of their instructors, especially Sue Goyette, Allison LaSorda, Cooper Bombardier, and Becca Babcock.
Nora subsequently got involved with Fathom听鈥� a creative writing journal produced by AV俱乐部 and King鈥檚 students. Describing this extra-curricular activity as their 鈥渂iggest joy鈥� upon returning to Dal, Nora first joined 贵补迟丑辞尘鈥檚 poetry editing team and had some of their own works included in an issue of the publication. In their final year, they served as poetry head co-editor.
Joining the writing community
听
Shortly after re-starting her degree, Nora began working part-time as a bookseller and barista at Open Book Coffee 鈥� a caf茅/book shop in Halifax that sells books from Nimbus Publishing. Since finishing their coursework this past summer, Nora has moved into events management and coordination at the business, working as a liaison between the bookstore caf茅, local authors and publishers, and the Writers鈥� Federation of Nova Scotia.
Nora says their organization and communication skills 鈥� plus their fascination with reading, writing, editing and working with authors 鈥� helped earn them this job, which also includes helping Nimbus strategize for upcoming book launches and events.
听
While Nora鈥檚 long-term goal is to continue working in the writing community, helping other writers polish their work and connect with others, they鈥檝e also been working on some of their own writing 听鈥� including expanding a novella they started in their final year, extending some poetry collections, and seeking further publication for their work.
鈥淒al helped me understand my creative process, which in turn has helped me to create work that resonates even more strongly with what I鈥檝e been trying to convey all along,鈥� says Nora. 鈥淭he tight-knit community that is woven through the intensity of the creative writing program is indispensable 鈥撯�� I know that I鈥檝e created connections that will always champion my work, and who I can turn to for inspiration as well.鈥�