草莓污视频导航

Jan. 23, 2020

Three generations of influential Indigenous women writers to speak at annual 草莓污视频导航 literary event

Maracle, Simpson, and Benaway set for MacEwan Hall Feb. 28 as 2019-2020 Distinguished Visiting Writer(s)
Indigenous writers event
Indigenous writers event

Three generations of acclaimed, groundbreaking Indigenous women writers are coming to the 草莓污视频导航 on Friday, Feb.听28, to read from their respective works and take part in a sure-to-be spirited panel discussion. Lee Maracle, Leanne Betasamosake Simpson, and Gwen Benaway will be appearing as the university鈥檚 2019-2020 Distinguished Visiting Writer(s), the event an annual highlight of the long-running Calgary Distinguished Writers Program (CDWP).

  • Photo above, from left:聽Leanne Betasamosake Simpson, Gwen Benaway and聽Lee Maracle. Photos courtesy the authors

鈥淚t鈥檚 going to be a beautiful evening,鈥 says author Joshua Whitehead, a doctoral student in the Department of English who will be moderating the Distinguished Visiting Writer panel discussion and Q-and-A. Whitehead, who was previously nominated for a Governor General鈥檚 Literary Award for his first novel, Jonny Appleseed, was a member of the CDWP committee and instrumental in bringing the three writers to 草莓污视频导航.

鈥淚t鈥檚 a rare occurrence when three generations of trail-blazing, Indigenous women writers 鈥斅爀ach of them, powerful activist voices 鈥斅爓ill be sharing a stage,鈥 he says. 鈥淚鈥檓 very excited for the conversations we鈥檒l have.鈥

Lee Maracle is 'grandmother of Indigenous Lit'

Lee Maracle, a member of the Sto:lo nation, whom Whitehead describes as 鈥渁 legend鈥 and the 鈥済randmother聽of Indigenous Lit,鈥 was, indeed, one of the first Indigenous authors to be published in Canada with her 1975 autobiographical novel聽Bobbie Lee, Indian Rebel. Since then she鈥檚 written many award-winning and critically acclaimed books of fiction, non-fiction and poetry, among them Ravensong, Daughters Are Forever, and I Am Woman: A Native Perspective on Sociology and Feminism. Her novel Celia鈥檚 Song was nominated for the 2020 Neustadt International Prize, a prestigious award often referred to as 鈥渢he American Nobel.鈥澛

A noted activist, Maracle has spoken against the injustices Indigenous people have suffered in Canada and she鈥檚 been a powerful advocate for Indigenous self-governance. Her writing has helped bring national awareness and move Canada toward聽cultural reclamation and reconciliation.听

鈥淪he鈥檚 a foundational writer in Canada and she鈥檚 helped pave聽the way for this explosion of Indigenous literature we鈥檙e experiencing now,鈥 says Whitehead. 鈥淪he鈥檚 a firecracker and a vivacious voice. Her work is seminal.鈥澛

Powerhouse Leanne Betasamosake Simpson聽

Leanne Betasamosake Simpson, a renowned Michi Saagiig Nishnaabeg scholar, writer and musician, and a member of Alderville First Nation, is a 鈥減owerhouse of Indigenous literature,鈥 says Whitehead. Her work, which includes fiction, non-fiction, music and poetry, intersects between the realms of politics, traditional Indigenous storytelling and song.听聽

She was named the RBC Charles Taylor Emerging Writer in 2014 and in 2017 her work聽This Accident of Being Lost was nominated for the Rogers Writers鈥 Trust Fiction Prize and the Trillium Book Award. Other acclaimed works include Dancing On Our Turtle鈥檚 Back, As We Have Always Done: Indigenous Freedom Through Radical Resistance, and The Winter We Danced: Voice from the Past, the Future and the Idle No More Movement. Simpson released her first album called Islands of Decolonial Love in conjunction with a book of poetry and short stories of the same name in 2013. Her second album,聽蹿(濒)颈驳丑迟,听was released in 2016.

Rising star聽Gwen Benaway a leading voice

The trio is rounded out by Gwen Benaway, whom Whitehead refers to as 鈥渁 rising star.鈥 A trans woman of Anishinaabe and Mtis descent, Benaway has published three collections of poetry, Ceremonies for the Dead, Passage, and Holy Wild, the latter netting her the Governor General鈥檚 Literary Award for Poetry. 鈥淭hat in itself was so groundbreaking, being the first trans woman to win a Governor General鈥檚 Literary Award,鈥 notes Whitehead.听

Benaway, too, has emerged as a leading voice in activist circles, speaking publicly and passionately about transphobia and Indigenous issues.听

鈥淭hese three voices are needed,鈥 says Whitehead. 鈥淭hey鈥檙e timely and important politically. And this is where CanLit is going. These are the sort of voices that the CDWP wants to spotlight. This is a proud moment.鈥

The Distinguished Visiting Writer event is one of the most highly anticipated literary happenings in Calgary. Since its inception in 1993, the program has brought to Calgary two Nobel Laureates, Derek Walcott and Wole Soyinka, and such literary luminaries as Neil Gaiman, Margaret Atwood, Art Spiegelman, Oliver Sacks and Michael Ondaatje, among others.听

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