Indigenous writing and the residential school experience

"Burning in the Midnight Dream is the latest collection of poems by Louise Bernice Halfe. Many were written in response to the grim tide of emotions, memories, dreams and nightmares that arose in her as the Truth and Reconciliation process unfolded. In heart-wrenching detail, Halfe recalls the damage done to her parents, her family, herself. With fearlessly wrought verse, Halfe describes how the experience of the residential schools continues to haunt those who survive, and how the effects pass like a virus from one generation to the next. She asks us to consider the damage done to children taken from their families, to families mourning their children; damage done to entire communities and to ancient cultures. Halfe's poetic voice soars in this incredibly moving collection as she digs deep to discover the root of her pain. Her images, created from the natural world, reveal the spiritual strength of her culture." - Publisher

"Among her healing arts are Native symbolism and history, the memories of her childhood on the reserve, and her own dark brand of humour. Like Tomson HIghway and Thomas King, Halfe is actively involved in reclaiming the long overlooked Native comedic tradition. Her poems about the erosion of old ways, the terrors of residential school and the pain inflicted by alcoholism abound with satiric portraits and shared jokes, yet pierce the heart with their truthfulness. Her angriest poems, infused with dark humour, are written in a Cree-inflected English she calls her "grassroots tongue." It is with this voice that she comes to terms with the legacy of Catholicism in the moving poems "ten hail mary's" and "dear poop." - Publisher

"Indigenous Poetics in Canada broadens the way in which Indigenous poetry is examined, studied, and discussed in Canada. Breaking from the parameters of traditional English literature studies, this volume embraces a wider sense of poetics, including Indigenous oralities, languages, and understandings of place." - Publisher