Poetry is a place into which we can disappear from pain. In these collections, there are many other themes explored, but these passages intertwined like threads through my reading. In “A Toothless Crackhead Was the Mascot” from Reginald Dwayne Betts’ Bastards of the Reagan Era (2015): “This begins the concept
Now there is snow covering everything, and the cold is bitter even when the sun is shining, so I read this week’s story and lecture inside, under an afghan, tucked into the corner of one of the warmer rooms (saving the warmest for later winter months—like being in training,
A couple of weeks ago, I attended Wordstock, a literary festival in Northern Ontario (they presented all their events in-person and online), and one of my favourite discussions was between three northern Indigenous authors, which reminded me that I had intended to share some other recent Indigenous reads. The Wordstock
Last time, there was talk of Bevann Fox’s novel Genocidal Love (2020), Isaac Murdoch’s The Trail of Nenaboozhoo and Other Creation Stories (illustrated by Christi Belcourt, 2019), David Bouchard’s and Roy Henry Vickers’ The Elders Are Watching (2003), and Kazim Ali’s Northern Light: Power, Land, and Memory of Water
Last week, there was talk of Cree poet Billy-Ray Belcourt, an illustrated book by Spokane-Coeur d'Alene writer Sherman Alexie, and the anthology This Place: 150 Years Retold showcasing a variety of Indigenous storytellers and artists. Now: a novel, a book of creation stories, a children’s book, and a memoir
