Mindblown: a blog about philosophy.
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READ INDIGENOUS: My Conversations with Canadians
In a series of 10 conversational essays in My Conversations with Canadians (Book*hug) celebrated Indigenous writer and scholar Lee Maracle confronts a multitude of current issues in Canada—from colonialism to basic terminology—through her experiences as a First Nations leader, a woman, a mother, and a grandmother. Below we share a must-read excerpt from “Conversation 6: What do…
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This long road to literary recognition
It is so difficult keeping up with the explosion of new authors in the indigenous world these days. What is particularly heartening is the number of award-winning young authors who are women. There is still a great deal of sexism in the industry; however, the industry is beginning to recognize more and more indigenous women…
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READ INDIGENOUS: Border Markers
Written in 33 flash fiction narratives, Jenny Ferguson’s prairie noir Border Markers (NeWest Press) tells the story of a suburban family shattered by an accidental death that opens up the preexisting cracks of their seemingly-banal life. Take in the secrets and gritty realism of this debut with an excerpt below.
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READ INDIGENOUS: A Difficult Beauty
The poems in David Groulx’s A Difficult Beauty (Wolsak and Wynn) are honest, thoughtful glimpses of life on a reserve, of the pain and anger of his ancestors, told with subtly dark humour. The Chronicle Herald says: “There is tenderness in Groulx; there is beauty alongside difficulty. But he has thunderbolts to throw—to illuminate consciousness…
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READ INDIGENOUS: Unearthing Secrets, Gathering Truths
Jules Arita Koostachin’s debut poetry collection Unearthing Secrets, Gathering Truths (Kegedonce Press) explores the experiences of an Indigenous woman facing a difficult past in order to find her voice. The featured poem “Nanan” and others in the collection look back on pivotal moments that shape a woman’s future and her understanding of herself.
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In Review: The Week of October 22nd
This week we continued to #ReadIndigenous with four more stellar books, went behind the scenes with two publishers, got our spooks on with some nightmarish book covers and scary reads, and much more.
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Under the Cover: From Post-It to Pechet The Lady From Kent is Born
When Publisher Beth Follett thought it was the end for Pedlar Press, one of the beacons of hope that emerged was a manuscript by Barbara Nichol: The Lady From Kent, a children’s book that began from a sketch that turned into verses that eventually became the sweet children’s book it is now.
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Chappy Hour: The Quick Red Fox + Fox Haunts
Much like a tricky fox, Penn Kemp’s latest collection Fox Haunts (Quattro Books) is playful and steeped in mythology. Read the poem “Steal, Stole, Stun” and a longer excerpt from this nature- and literature-inspired collection and sip on a Quick Red Fox cocktail or mocktail (just watch out for that lazy dog).
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READ INDIGENOUS: Death by Dinosaur
Award-winning Métis children’s author Jacqueline Guest is well known for incorporating First Nations, Inuit or Métis characters into her adventurous novels. Her latest middle-grade novel, Death by Dinosaur (Coteau Books), features the added setting/character of the Royal Tyrell Museum, potentially doomed to be the site of a dinosaur bone theft.
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READ INDIGENOUS: Hiraeth
In Hiraeth (Inanna Publications), novelist, poet, playwright, visual artist, and musician Carol Rose Daniels writes a collection of poems that reaches to other women to lend and share strength. The triumphant featured poem below, “Unravelling Threads,” and others in the collection continue Daniels’ literary work chronicling the Sixties Scoop, where Indigenous children were taken from their families…
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READ INDIGENOUS: Walking in the Woods
Métis author and entrepreneur Herb Belcourt is remembered largely as a philanthropist who devoted more than 30 years of his life to improving access to affordable housing and furthering education for Aboriginal Albertans with his non-profit, CanNative Housing Corporation. Today we excerpt from the updated edition of his memoir Walking in the Woods: A Métis Memoir…
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READ INDIGENOUS: Where the Blood Mixes
Winner of a Governor General’s Literary Award, Kevin Loring’s first full-length play Where the Blood Mixes (Talonbooks) traces the disastrous aftermath of the residential school system in a small, First Nations community where the Fraser and Thompson Rivers meet.
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Under the Cover: Lacing Up Skates – and Production – with Latitude 46’s Soulmates on Ice
While nowhere near the dedication needed to achieve an Olympic medal (and three times, no less!), putting out a book in a shorter turnaround time is a publisher’s own extreme sport. We went under the cover of Olympian and World pair Figure Skating champions Meaghan Duhamel and Eric Radford’s book – the upcoming Soulmates on Ice: From…
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In Review: The Week of October 15th
This week we appreciated local food producers, discovered and shared Indigenous-authored books, arm-chair traveled back to the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver, and much more.
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Where in Canada: Vancouver, 2010 Olympics in Twin Studies
Keith Maillard’s Twin Studies (Freehand Books) is a novel about the intertwined stories between three sets of twins that author Jen Sookfong Lee calls “deliberately written, fiercely inventive, and unflinching.” Set during the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver, Twin Studies pulses with the spirit and energy of Vancouver, embracing the city’s contradictions and complexities.
Got any book recommendations?