There’s a Poem for That: Kelsey Borgford & Cole Forrest + Once the Smudge is Lit

All Lit Up: Can you tell us a bit about Once the Smudge is Lit and how it came to be?

Cole Forrest: Kelsey, Tessa, and I came together in a coffee shop and developed the themes and ideas for the collection, then we just jumped right in from there, what poems do we have on these themes, and what can we write to build this bigger story we’re telling in the collection. Then boom, throughout the year we put together this awesome poetry book. Once the Smudge is Lit is all about our experiences as young Indigenous people, from our cultural and personal histories, through our perspectives.

Kelsey Borgford: Our book is a composition of our unique experiences as Nbisiing Anishinaabe expressed through literary arts. It is an expedition through the tumultuous terrains of grief, love, and finding oneself. The reader undertaking the expedition finds peace in works about culture and ceremony. 

Our work came to be as a result of a shared understanding of the comfort writing can give whilst traversing the often tiring path of life as Anishinaabeg.

ALU: What sparked your initial love of poetry? 

Kelsey: I have always been interested in writing for as long as I can remember. The first time I found a love for it is when my work was recognized as good by those around me. I knew I was destined to be a creative as I was passionate about the arts, however I didn’t know which path I belonged in as I never felt like I excelled in anything until I was reaffirmed by other creatives. 

Cole: I’ve always loved the ability of poetry to be as non-linear, non-conforming, non-narrative, free-flowing as possible. I’ve always loved poetry because it can be what you want from the jump. Sometimes in artistic practice there’s talk about knowing rules before you break them. In poetry I never knew whatever poetry rules were out there so I just wrote and thankfully I’ve always had a lot of encouragement to continue to write. I’m grateful for my mother because she taught me to be intentional with what I do, and to question, to be my own person, and I feel I reflect what my mom taught  me in the way I write; it’s molded me to create my own auteur poetry voice (so thanks mom, love you). 

ALU: What did you learn while writing your collection? 

Kelsey: Writing isn’t a task I can take up without inspiration. I often feel as if I am guided whilst writing, and I don’t have to think much about the words that I am putting down if I have a source of inspiration. From this, I learned that my writing is a collective experience. Bits and pieces of family, friends, and places are sculpted into each line. It is made of the community, and it is made for the community. 

ALU: Has your idea of poetry changed since you began writing? 

Kelsey: In some ways, yes! With the editor I learned there were more ways of expression I could be utilizing through grammar and punctuation. For example, I did not use periods in my works to communicate a thread between each work. Each short piece came together to create a story. The concept of that continuation is also expressed through the artwork by Tessa through the flowing smudge on each page. 

ALU: Can you discuss the significance of language and word choice in your collection. How did you land on which words to use? 

Cole: For my poetry in the collection, I definitely communicate my writing in a frank way, I’m really direct and honest in the way I respond and recall my memories, trauma, and history. I think when it comes to words and which to use, for me it just comes from the way I speak, it’s very much like mouth-to-paper in the way I write and convey what I’m talking about, just as how I would in a conversation.

ALU: Are there poetry collections you can’t get out of your head years later?

Cole: There are three collections that inspire me greatly. This Wound Is A World changed my life, I took it everywhere, I recommended it to everyone, Billy-Ray Belcourt’s poetry blew my mind. Infinite Citizen of The Shaking Tent by Liz Howard, for me was like woah, this poetry is incredible, such a unique voice, and when I put it down I started writing. The third is Night Sky With Exit Wounds by Ocean Vuong. That collection opened me up to new levels of vulnerability, and taught me so much about style. I would say all of these collections had a huge impact on me, they really helped me grow and take new steps to develop my own poetry voice.