Daniel Heath Justice, a UBC professor of First Nations studies and Research Chair in Indigenous Literature and Expressive Culture, spoke to CBC for a story on emerging Indigenous authors in Canada.
“One of the most compelling emerging Indigenous writers is two-spirited, multi-national Anishinaabe/Métis poet Gwen Benaway, whose first book, Ceremonies for the Dead, was published under her previous name, Giles,” he said. “It’s a stunner: harrowing, eloquent, haunting and deeply moving. She takes up the nature of trauma, both personal and collective, and considers its multigenerational impacts without drifting into easy moralizing or trite sentiment.”
