Oliver poet and Canadian Book Club award-winner Chiara Mason is hosting two events in Kelowna on Feb. 15 to mark the publishing of her second collection of poetry.

Her first book, Blooming: Poetry for Seasons of Change, received the 2023 award for the poetry category. 

Since receiving the award, Mason spent the last year-and-a-half working on her second collection of poetry, which in ways has proven harder since she didn't have anything stockpiled for it. 

"I've been writing in one way or another for as long as I can remember, so my first book actually had some poems that were from when I was quite a bit younger and over a significantly longer period of time," said Mason. "My second book is a lot more recent."

No More Second Chances: Poems to Heal Your Heart, is focused on self-worth and healing in friendship, family and romantic relationships. 

"The goal I have is for the people who are reading it to really be able to recognize their own worth, their own self-worth, throughout kind of this collection, and to stop giving out second chances to either people or circumstances that aren't worthwhile, and really being able to find the space to heal," said Mason. "The writing process for me, definitely felt like a healing experience, and so I'm hoping the reading process for others will also be a kind of healing experience."

Blooming was split into four main sections based around the seasons in the Okanagan and focused on growth and change. 

"It was a more of a self-discovery type of journey," said Mason. "How you just grow through different changes in your life as you move through different stages."

To celebrate the launch of No More Second Chances, Mason will be at the Indigo in Kelowna from noon until 5 p.m. selling copies and signing them. 

Afterwards, she'll be hosting a soiree and poetry reading from the book at the Flamingo Room (Motherlove Kombucha) from 7-9 p.m. 

Copies of Mason's first book Blooming are currently available at the Indigo in Kelowna and at the Coles in Penticton.