Breath Tracks

Sheila Martindale is poetry editor of Canadian Author and Bookman and
author of No Greater Love.

Armstrong is an Okanagan Indian who writes strongly about the experience
of people (particularly women) of the First Nations. There is a great
reverence for life here, together with respect for ancient wisdom and
ancestral stories. Armstrong mourns the desecration of the land and the
Native way of life by the conquering Europeans. The following is from
“History Lesson”: “Out of the belly of Christopher’s ship / a
mob bursts / Running in all directions / Pulling furs off animals /
Shooting buffalo.”

The poet addresses the myriad difficulties of a people struggling to
maintain its culture and identity. In “For Tony,” she says, “the
war you fought alone / is ours now too / Already our people gather / to
choose their weapons.” Her imagery is rich and her tone very often
dreamlike. There are evocative rhythms and echoes in her writing that
make the reader want to delve down to find all the layers of meaning. On
a more practical note, she writes about alcoholism and wife abuse, and
here the words are stark and the dialogue real and painful.

The book is divided into four cohesive sections, each with its
particular tone. The least successful of the poems are shaped in
columns, a device that lessens their impact. But this is a poet with a
powerful voice, who speaks with grace and clarity for generations of
Native people. Though they demand a great deal of the reader, in both
cerebral and emotional terms, these are poems not easily forgotten.