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The East Side of It All, written from the perspective of a drug user and single-room occupant in Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside, explores the ongoing process of healing through reconnection with family, the natural world and traditional Indigenous (Kwantlen) storytelling. Dandurand’s ... Read more
The East Side of It All, written from the perspective of a drug user and single-room occupant in Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside, explores the ongoing process of healing through reconnection with family, the natural world and traditional Indigenous (Kwantlen) storytelling. Dandurand’s voice is lyrical yet intimate, obscured yet sitting with you at the kitchen table having a cigarette. The East Side of It All is the journey of a broken man who finally accepts his storytelling gift and shares with the world his misery, joy and laughter. Dandurand’s previous poetry collection was shortlisted for the 2020 Dorothy Livesay BC Book Prize for Poetry.
Joseph Dandurand is a member of the Kwantlen First Nation, located on the Fraser River about twenty minutes east of Vancouver, BC. He resides there with his three children. Dandurand is the director of the Kwantlen Cultural Centre and the author of several books of poetry including The East Side of It All (Nightwood Editions, 2020), which was shortlisted for the Griffin Poetry Prize. In 2021, Dandurand received the BC Lieutenant Governor’s Award for Literary Excellence.
How does the Romantic keep on if he’s a contemporary First Nations guy? Like the poet Dandurand. There’s an honest that gets bare bones scary in some of these free verse poems. .. but thanks to the clarity, often irony of his vision, our awkward humanity speaks through.
These are powerful visionary parables of suffering, redemption and retribution. ..
Hands down, Joseph Dandurand is one of my all-time favourite writers. .. Good Lord—what a voice!
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Our Indigenous History Month celebration continues with Nightwood Editions, a BC-based press known for their exceptional roster of authors including some of Canada's emerging and seasoned Indigenous writers. Learn more about Nightwood and check out some of their recently ... Read more
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