River Running
In his highly anticipated, breathtakingly intimate debut, Loch Baillie pens an unfiltered queer Bildungsroman that traces both a geographical and emotional journey from his birthplace in New England to where he comes to settle in Quebec.
Raw and confessional, River Running dives gracefully into the intangible concept of home, be it person or place. “No more metaphors tonight,” writes Baillie, “I come to tell you nothing / but the truth.” This collection probes at memory and love, identity and grief, with achingly gentle hands, sifting through the fragments one both leaves behind and becomes.
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It’s an exceptionally rare thing to be wooed — “These words, cornsilk falling between us, / as I undo myself like a forest of ginkgos.” — to awaken next to your lover, as you touch your forehead still sensing where his was against yours, dancing, “Se tourner vers l’autre pour lui dire.” Words so real I reach beside me for your hand, only to knock Loch Baillie’s towering debut, River Running, off the bed. “I think we’re lost / I think you got us here” (we giggle). “Grass, green. Sky, blue. Our joy was joy — that’s all.” A keepsake. — Kirby, author of She
Atmospheric and probing, Loch Baillie’s River Running lends fresh insight into the intricacies of intimacy and isolation. An accomplished debut. — Annick MacAskill, author of Votive
Multilingual readers will recognize the physicality of language so eloquently expressed by Loch Baillie in River Running. Here, words become mosquitoes floating in the summer dusk, wildflowers picked to ask forgiveness. These poems are technically skilled yet intimate, structured yet ephemeral — like houses made of light. — Dominique Bernier-Cormier, author of Entre Rive and Shore
From the intimacy of extended direct address to the yearning of “Blowjob Bildungsroman” and the ache of homesickness, River Running flirts with tradition while forging its own ground. Loch Baillie offers playful takes on coming-of-age, filtered through a sharp and perceptive mind. — Cassidy McFadzean, author of Crying Dress
Originally from Worcester, Massachusetts, Loch Baillie (he/il) is a queer writer and editor now based in Quebec City. He is the author of two poetry chapbooks, ice, dove, parachute (Cactus Press) and Citronella (Anstruther Press), as well as the forthcoming collection River Running (icehouse poetry/Goose Lane Editions, 2026). Loch’s writing has appeared in magazines such as Maclean’s, yolk literary, and Ahoy. He is an associate poetry editor at Plenitude Magazine and a board director for the Quebec Writers’ Federation. An alumnus of Bishop’s University, Loch is currently continuing his English literature studies at the graduate level at Université Laval. Find him everywhere @lochbaillie.
