news | Wednesday September 13, 2023

Spells, Wishes, and the Talking Dead: ᒪᒪᐦᑖᐃᐧᓯᐃᐧᐣ ᐸᑯᓭᔨᒧᐤ ᓂᑭᐦᒋ ᐋᓂᐢᑯᑖᐹᐣ mamahtâwisiwin, pakosêyimow, nikihci-âniskotâpân in BC Bookworld

Carellin Brooks reviewed the stellar poetry collection Spells, Wishes, and the Talking Dead: ᒪᒪᐦᑖᐃᐧᓯᐃᐧᐣ ᐸᑯᓭᔨᒧᐤ ᓂᑭᐦᒋ ᐋᓂᐢᑯᑖᐹᐣ mamahtâwisiwin, pakosêyimow, nikihci-âniskotâpân by Wanda John-Kehewin in the most recent issue of BC Bookworld.

From the review, entitled “Expressing Anger in ᓀᐦᐃᔭᐍᐏᐣ nêhiyawêwin:”

“With her third book, Wanda John-Kehewin plays with form, language, meaning and words in Spells, Wishes, and the Talking Dead.

Like a memory box, it yields a rich jumbled trove: verse, prose, family photos and art. Yet this book was not written merely to illustrate a life in all its richness, even if that is a benefit for the attentive reader. Its intentions are deadly serious: to take back the author’s life and reclaim her traditional language through rewriting, reappraisal and outright sabotage.”

Read the complete article on pages 28–29 here.