I Hope It Don't Rain Tonight

Edward L. Edmonds is a professor of education at the University of
Prince Edward Island and honorary chief of the Mi’kmaq of Prince
Edward Island.

Readers attuned to a Eurocentric style may find the poems in this first
collection simplistic. Such readers would not have grasped where the
poet, an Inuit from Labrador, is coming from. Igloliorti’s style is
direct and conversational. His language is spare, and he is not afraid
of repetition. His poems are entirely confessional in character,
revealing an emotionally intense view of the people (including his
mother, wife, and son) and things around him. The poem “Why in the
world did you do this to me” communicates the heart-rending cry of a
sexually abused boy.

Séamus Callaghan contributes an insightful introduction to this deeply
affecting book of poems.