"Passionately lyrical poetry is Keon's forte. He fuses the shamanistic chant with free verse. The simplicity of his work reminds one of the late American doctor poet William Carlos Williams. Keon writes poems” such as ‘If I Ever Heard’” that bring a smile to your face and a song to your lips. Keon's work reminds us that love and music should be, must be, are, the root and branch of poetry."” George Elliot Clarke, Halifax Daily News
"... confidence, finely balanced between self-deprecating humour and blind passion, makes Sweetgrass II a memorable collection... Keon brings back strange snapshots from the Spirit World... and breaks new ground... [these poems] yield remarkable visions."” Montreal Gazette
"[Keon's lyric stanzas?] direct meditative flow is as sensitive and terse as actual speech. These songs of grief and recovery, depression and revenge, evolve in an elliptical narrative of transformation that is as vital as it is expressive."” Ottawa Citizen
Also included are three of Keon's striking tales of Spirit Warrior Raven, traditional stories of psychic pain and healing.

Wayne Keon, author of My Sweet Maize, Storm Dancer, and Sweetgrass II, is an Ojibway poet and financial analyst. Keon’s poems have appeared in journals across Canada, including Canadian Literature and Prism International, and have been widely anthologized, most recently in An Anthology of Native Canadian Literature in English (Oxford).

Wayne Keon's profile page