Northern Ontarian Innovative and Indigenous Poetics

This issue features new poetry from Griffin Poetry Prize winning poet Liz Howard, and creative critical writing by Fenn Stewart and waaseyaa’sin christine sy on Infinite Citizen of the Shaking Tent. As well, Sarah Pinder and Mat Laporte share in conversation about coming of age in a small town, the desperation for the intellectual life, escapist tactics, and zines before the age of the internet. Translators/poets Vappu Kannas and Shannon Maguire collaborate to create a part Finnish/part English text exploring language, translation, creation and loss. Margaret Christakos transcends form in a generous offering of new writing, experimenting with the poetic essay, the lyric poem and the Facebook post. This issue also includes bold new poetics from Vera Wabegijig, the electric lyricism of M.D. Dunn, and work from emerging poet Keri Cheechoo, a PhD candidate focusing on themes of colonization, silence, racism, and resilience in her work. Finally, we bring you the eloquent and powerful poetry of Lesley Belleau. This special issue of CV2 brings shoulder-to-shoulder some of the most exciting emerging and newly established voices—alongside several long-established ones—working in innovative and Indigenous traditions.