POETRY IN PLACE UNIFIES LOCAL VOICES
Poetry in Place is an anthology written by immigrants, settlers and Indigenous writers who live between Lake Ontario and the Grand River. Each poem explores how modernization, colonial history, politics and economics have transformed Indigenous culture and relationships with the land both physically and metaphorically. The anthology advocates for environmental preservation and demonstrates how poetry can effectively communicate this message.
The anthology is divided into multiple sections, each representing different themes related to Indigenous culture: Land, Water, Trees, Birds and Wild Creatures. It is intriguing to see the various perspectives of the writers who submitted their poems to this book. Poetry in Place begins with a vivid poem by Elizabeth Tessier, “Deeds.”
The poem is about loyalists who came to Canada and exploited the land. Tessier uses vivid words such as “Felled and Burnt” and “choking out the native life” to describe the destruction and exploitation of Indigenous land. Not only do her words paint a vivid picture in the reader’s mind, but the way she uses her creativity in other poems further in the book leave an impressionable impact.
The writers’ word choices are powerful, and the imagery brings each theme to life in a unique way. While some poems feel fragmented or abstract, they generally succeed in conveying their intended message.
Although some of the poems are easy to understand and express interesting themes, there are also very complex poems. “Looming,” is about Jerusha Currie and John Solomon Hager, who find a place called Middleport. After Hager’s death from a fever contracted while travelling through a swamp, the poem’s narrative becomes harder to follow. Still, the emotional tone and historical context remain compelling.
Finally, the book does an excellent job emphasizing the importance of Indigenous land and land preservation using various interviews with the writers of the poems. Although they use similar questions for each interview, they still do a good job of supporting the overarching theme of the book: reflecting on the importance of Indigenous land and gaining recognition.
The interviews ask questions like “How would you describe your relationship to the land?”, “How long have you called a particular physical place ‘home’?”, and “Is your relationship to the land affected by any particular religious or spiritual grounding, or does it come from a specific worldview of any kind?”
The responses not only deepen our understanding of each writer’s relationship with nature but also offer insight into the personal perspectives behind their poems.
I would highly recommend Poetry in Place as a compelling anthology that showcases the talented voices from Southern Ontario. It invites us to reflect on our relationship with land, history, and identity through poetry.
The print version does not include the names of the authors from Waterloo Region featured in this anthology. The authors are: Janice Jo Lee, Mark Kempf, Paula Kienapple-Summers, Fitsum Areguy, Miriam Pirbhai, Tanis MacDonald, Geoff Martin and Elizabeth McCallister.
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