A Winnipeg poet paints a downbeat portrait of life among vulnerable Métis women. Katherena Vermette brings Métis history to life in new graphic novel series | CBC Radio She started out with poetry, wrote a national bestselling book and is now delving into the … Shayla Elizabeth: When did you know you were a writer? The cover of The Break, Katherena Vermette’s masterful debut novel, features a portion of a painting by Métis and Mennonite artist Corinna Wollf. Vermette is Métis and this identity permeates every line of… In the painting, a middle-aged woman stands directly facing her audience in a full-length, black dress detailed in subtle, but vibrant floral print inspired by Métis artist Christi Belcourt (“Corinna Wollf”). The born-and-bred Winnipegger, who is currently finishing her MFA in creative writing at UBC, wrote the poems in the book over a period of about ten years. by Brett Josef Grubisic. Her work has appeared in several literary magazines and compilations, including Manitowapow: Aboriginal Writings from the Land of Water . Her novel The Break was a Canadian bestseller and won multiple awards as well as nominations. Katherena is a Métis writer from Treaty One territory, the heart of the Métis nation. We go back to nothing. The Red River, the focus of Katherena Vermette's second book of poetry, river woman, begins its journey north at the confluence of the rivers Bois de Sioux and Otter Trails. Her novel, The Break (House of Anansi) was bestseller in Canada and won multiple awards, including the 2017 Amazon.ca First Novel Award. The Koffler Centre of the Arts and Ben McNally Books are thrilled to present Anishinaabe and Métis poet Gwen Benaway, in conversation with Métis writer and artist Katherena Vermette. Her debut poetry collection North End Love Songs won the Governor General’s Literary Award for poetry. In 2013 Katherena Vermette won the Governor General’s Award for poetry for North End Love Songs, a collection that evokes life along the banks of Red River. Our bodies become nothing, and we just float around the people who love us. As it twists and turns through industrial, urban and agricultural lands, it both forms borders and flouts them, tracing out the line that delineates Minnesota and North Dakota before pushing its way into Manitoba. I’ve been lucky lately; my last few reading picks have been fantastic. Katherena Vermette is a Métis writer born in Winnipeg. Katherena Vermette is a Canadian author. Her novel The Break was a bestseller in Canada and won multiple awards, including the … Toronto. Katherena lives with her family in an old house near the Red River. Katherena Vermette is a Métis writer of poetry, fiction, and children's literature. November 27, 2013 — Centre for Creative Writing and Oral Culture (CCWOC) affiliate Katherena Vermette is about to be awarded the 2013 Governor General’s Literary Award for Poetry, for her collection North End Love Songs.. Her work largely deals with indigenous Canadian populations and their complicated connection to a land that is still haunted by its colonial past. Katherena Vermette is a published Canadian author of Métis descent. Katherena Vermette’s North End Love Songs is a debut collection from an emerging Winnipeg poet, a book that combines elegiac and fiercely ecstatic melodies to sing of a complicated love for a city, a river, and a neighbourhood. The dead don't have anything to hang on to. The Red River, the focus of Katherena Vermette’s second book of poetry, river woman, begins its journey north at the confluence of the rivers Bois de Sioux and Otter Trails. KATHERENA VERMETTE is a Métis writer from Treaty One territory, the heart of the Métis nation, Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. Her first book, North End Love Songs, won the Governor General's Literary Award for Poetry in 2013. Katherena Vermette. Vermette is from Winnipeg in Manitoba. Katherena Vermette is a new author to me, yet much celebrated—especially in Canada. Her first book, North End Love Songs (The Muses’ Company) won the 2013 Governor General Literary Award for Poetry. Katherena Vermette: I always wanted to write, tell stories. Her poetry and fiction have appeared in several literary magazines and anthologies, including Manitowapow: Aboriginal Writings from the Land of Water Katherena Vermette. It was shortlisted for the Governor General’s Literary Award and was a 2017 Canada Reads finalist. Katherena Vermette is a Métis writer from Treaty One territory, the heart of the Métis nation, Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. https://roommagazine.com/excited-about-everything-katherena-vermette-3 All photography by Chris Friesen. The Pacific Spirit Poetry Prize deadline is just around the corner! Katherena Vermette is a Canadian writer, who won the Governor General's Award for English-language poetry in 2013 for her collection North End Love Songs. North End Love Songs is an incredible collection. Vermette is of Metis descent and from Winnipeg, Manitoba. Katherena Vermette’s debut poetry collection, North End Love Songs, won the 2013 Governor General’s Award for poetry.Her debut novel opens in a place locally known as The Break, a barren strip of hydro land in that same Winnipeg neighbourhood, as the sole witness to a … She is Métis, and from Winnipeg, Manitoba. Katherena Vermette is a Canadian writer, who won the Governor General's Award for English-language poetry in 2013 for her collection North End Love Songs. Her first book, North End Love Songs (The Muses Company), won the Governor General’s Literary Award for Poetry.Her NFB short documentary, this river, won the Coup de Coeur at the Montreal First Peoples Festival and a Canadian Screen Award. In 2013, she was the receptor of the Governor General’s Award in the field of English language poetry, awarded to her for North End Love Songs. KATHERENA VERMETTE. Katherena Vermette knows her beloved neighbourhood in Winnipeg has a reputation for violence and racism, and the Governor General Award-winning Métis poet is using the power of words to change that. JESSICA RUZEK. The Break Katherena Vermette Anansi 368pp $22.95. Her collection North End Love Songs won the Governor General’s Literary Award for Poetry. Katherena Vermette is a Métis writer of poetry, fiction and children's literature. She is a member of the Métis First Nation based in the Canadian province of Manitoba. Kate Black caught up with Katherena Vermette, this year’s contest judge, to talk truth and poetry and what she’s looking for in a winning entry. Her first book, North End Love Songs won the Governor General’s Literary Award for poetry.The Break was her first novel. Marvin Francis said that […] As it twists and turns through industrial, urban, and agricultural lands, it both forms borders and flouts them, tracing out the line that delineates Minnesota and North Dakota before pushing its way its way into Manitoba. ', 'But even in sleep, her ghosts all hunt her down, wanting her to look at them, remember them. Katherena Vermette prefaces the opening section in her second collection of poetry with an epigraph from Elvis Presley’s “Can’t Help Falling In Love.” This may seem like a counterintuitive choice for the poems that follow, until one remembers that Elvis was repeatedly castigated for appropriating the music and styles of other cultures to turn a profit. Her poetry and fiction have appeared in several literary magazines and anthologies, including Manitowapow: Aboriginal Writings from the Land of Water. The Break is Vermette's first novel, but she has quite a track record as a writer. Her first book, North End Love Songs (The Muses' Company) won the 2013 Governor General Literary Award for Poetry. She lives in Winnipeg, Manitoba. there is no neutral safe place we can hide out in waiting for the 2018. . House of Anansi Press. Poetry Pause x Biblioasis: Katherena Vermette — Anishnaabemowin About Best Canadian Poetry: Launched in 2008 by Tightrope Books with former series editor Molly Peacock, the Best Canadian Poetry Series features fifty Canadian poets annually, drawn from Canadian literary journals magazines, both print and on-line. Katherena Vermette is a Métis author from Treaty 1 territory. . Here’s one of the poems from that collection. 112 pages. 13 quotes from Katherena Vermette: 'The dead don't hang on, the living do. House of Anansi, 2018 $19.95 Reviewed by . Vermette is of Métis descent and originates from Winnipeg, Manitoba.She was a MFA student in creative writing at the University of British Columbia. Katherena Vermette is a Métis writer from Treaty One territory, the heart of the Métis nation, Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. River Woman—profoundly personal, politically charged, playful and burning with love and loss—is a brilliant poetic work by Governor General’s award-winning novelist and poet Katherena Vermette.Her poetry spotlights and rejoices in the multilayered façades of love through postcolonial action. Winner of the 2013 Governor General's Award for Poetry Katherena Vermette pulled off an impressive accomplishment, winning a Governor General’s award with her first book. Her first book, North End Love Songs (The Muses Company) won the Governor General’s Literary Award for Poetry. Katherena Vermette is a Metis writer from Treaty One territory, Winnipeg, Canada. Interviewed by Napatsi Folger. Katherena Vermette, a Métis/Mennonite poet, won the 2013 Governor General’s Literary Award for English-language Poetry for North End Love Songs (The Muses’ Co.). It is deeply rooted in its location, yet will reach out to readers everywhere with its harsh and beautiful tunings of growing up female in Winnipeg’s North End. KATHERENA VERMETTE is a Métis writer of poetry and fiction, whose work has appeared in several literary magazines and anthologies, most recently, Manitowapow – Aboriginal Writing from the Land of Water (Highwater 2012), and upcoming in cv2 and Canada and Beyond: A Journal of Canadian Literary and Cultural Studies.She has won numerous awards and accolades, including the 2013 Governor … She was a MFA student in creative writing at the University of British Columbia. Katherena Vermette is a Métis writer from Treaty One territory, the heart of the Métis nation, Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. That is all we ever were or should ever be. A trans girl poet described as “the spiritual love child of Tomson Highway and Anne Sexton,” Gwen Benaway has published two collections of poetry, Ceremonies for the Dead and Passage. Her first book, North End Love Songs (The Muses Company), won the Governor General’s Literary Award for Poetry. Her poetry collection, North End Love Songs won the Governor General’s Award for English-language poetry in 2013. Shayla Elizabeth is a Cree/Iniwé writer/storyteller based in Winnipeg. Katherena Vermette is a Métis writer of poetry and fiction. Opening her second collection of poetry, river woman, Katherena Vermette appeals to Menominee poet Chrystos in the epigraph, I assert that poetry without politics is narcissistic and not useful to us .