Native Poetry in Canada: A Contemporary Anthology

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

With interest in Native literature growing significantly, the appearance
of this book is timely. Native Poetry in Canada features poems spanning
some four decades, from the counterculture 1960s through the “Red
Power” movement of the 1970s to the diverse, impassioned voices of the
1980s and 1990s. The best of these poems express powerful feelings:
biting satire, resentment, pugnacity, humor, social criticism, and
reflective self-scrutiny (“the way back to life will be / by doing
battle inside ourselves”).

The editors are to be congratulated on their selections. The anthology
includes poems not only by Aboriginal poets but also by Aboriginal
writers who are best known for their novels and plays. Each contributor
is introduced with a brief biography, and explanatory notes accompany
their works.

Canada has been accurately called a cultural mosaic: this anthology is
an important contribution. In short, here is a book for all Canadians to
read.