Poetry Grrrowl: Unearthing Secrets, Gathering Truths + Jules Arita Koostachin

Poetry Grrrowl with us all month long and get 15% OFF all of our featured collections until April 30th!

Interview with the Poet

All Lit Up: Tell us about your collection.I started writing as a young child; it was a natural creative process for me. I used it to escape and to travel to other worlds in my head. Also, it was my way of dealing with the world around me; I would go into another zone – the words on the page became a portal. When I became a young adult I continued with my writing, and even to this day, I write to find inner peace. I started writing my collection Unearthing Secrets, Gathering Truths over 20 years ago…it took me a long time to get it published. There are poems in the collection that date back to the early ’90s. I’m happy it is finally out there in the world, and has a life of its own.All Lit Up: What is your process for beginning a poem? Has it changed since you began writing?It’s the same as when I was a child, I start with an idea and write – either in my journal or at my computer. I get lost in the words, and my feelings. I am a visual thinker, so writing allows me to create worlds, situations and characters. It also helps with my stress, I write for the sake of writing – meaning that when I am dealing with something challenging in my life, I write to explore my feelings and thoughts. All Lit Up: What sparked your initial love of poetry?Still to this day, I find refuge in my imagination, and writing is a type of meditation for me. It is a way for me to channel stories from another time and place. In high school, I was gifted a book of poetry by William Wordsworth and I immediately fell in love with his words. I remember that I read it over and over again…I could not only see his words in my minds eye, but I could also feel his love and pain. Then later, I was introduced to Chrystos, an Indigenous poet; her writing resonated with me, and I was soon inspired to write from my own lived experience. I really engage with poets who can paint landscapes with their words, and I believe this is because InNiNiMoWin (Swampy Cree language) is a very animated and descriptive language and a way of understanding the world we live in. All Lit Up: Who are some of your fave women poets? Lee Maracle, Joanne Arnott and Chrystos – they are all strong Indigenous IskWeWak (women) who I deeply respect. All Lit Up: What do you find most informs and inspires your writing?The spirit of the narrative…* * *

A Poem from Unearthing Secrets, Gathering Truths

“Shaking Tent”I enter the portal    * * *

Jules Koostachin, owner of VisJuelles Productions Inc. is Cree from Attawapiskat and a PhD candidate with the Institute of Gender, Race, Sexuality and Social Justice at UBC. She carries extensive experience working in Indigenous community in varying capacities such as counseling, consulting, teaching and management. Jules, also known as a storyteller and digital media maker works to honour cultural protocols and build relationship within Indigenous community through her media arts practice. Her artistic endeavours are informed by her experience living with her Cree grandparents in northern Ontario. Her educational presentations utilize her media work to educate on Indigenous realities.* * *During the month of April, you can buy Unearthing Secrets, Gathering Truths as well as any of our featured Poetry Grrrowl books for 15% off (+ we’ll send you a stack of our exclusive temporary tattoos and stickers to show off your woman pride!)Keep up with us all month on   Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook with the hashtag #poetrygrrrowl.BONUS: Test your knowledge of all the rad women of poetry with our Poetry Grrrowl quiz!