CoCoPoPro: “I Talked With the Moon” by Al Hunter

Today we’re in Manitou Rapids (also known as Rainy River First Nation), a small community about halfway between Winnipeg and Thunder Bay. It’s the homeplace of poet, activist, and educator Al Hunter. Today’s featured poem is from his third collection, Beautiful Razor: Love Poems and Other Lies, released in October of 2012 by Kegedonce Press. Richard Wagamese writes of these poems, "What lies here are the vagaries of a heart wounded, shattered, and redeemed by love. Such generosity of spirit deserves acclaim. A bravura work.”

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The following is an excerpt of an interview with Al Hunter that was printed in the Indian Country Today Media Network on April 7, 2013 by Konnie Lemay. Reprinted with permission. Read the full article here. 

So much of poetry involves rhythm and often echoes rhythms in our lives. Are there any rhythms that you return to as you work-the lapping of the lake, drumbeats, heartbeat, hoofbeats?

By nature I’m a pretty solitary creature, and I find comfort, solace and inspiration in the natural world. I go there because it’s where I feel the most comfortable. The natural rhythm of creation moves me, resonates inside me, inside my soul, it moves my spirit, it heals me. I also listen to a lot of different kinds of music, read a lot of different poets, and that all swirls together somewhere inside me, in my unconscious. It all inspires me to write, to communicate, to create.

There are a few recurring images in this set of poems that struck me-birds and flight (especially hummingbirds) and stars. What is it about these images that attracts you?

Sometimes it’s the very spirits or actual beings that come while in thought or action. In turn, words come, images come, metaphors come, messages come. I listen, I remember, I write, I revise and revise until a three-dimensional image emerges which is the poem or poems. The poems are homages to the beings that come to bring healing.

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Al Hunter is from Rainy River First Nations, Manitou Rapids, Ontario. He is a proud member of the Caribou clan whose roles and responsibilities include reconciliation, peacemaking, and the preservation of artistic and creative traditions of the Anishinaabeg. Beautiful Razor is his third collection of poetry. Hunter has been reading from it across the country, and recently spoke with CBC radio about his book. You can find out where he’ll be next on his website or on Facebook.

_______Edited from the original post, published on the LPG blog