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Poetry Canadian

Louis

The Heretic Poems

by (author) Gregory Scofield

Publisher
Nightwood Editions
Initial publish date
Oct 2011
Category
Canadian
  • Paperback / softback

    ISBN
    9780889712621
    Publish Date
    Oct 2011
    List Price
    $18.95

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Recommended Age, Grade, and Reading Levels

  • Age: 15
  • Grade: 10

Description

Few figures in Canadian history have attained such an iconic status as Louis Riel. Celebrated Metis poet Gregory Scofield takes a fresh look at Riel in his new collection, Louis: The Heretic Poems, challenging traditional conceptions of Riel as simply a folk hero and martyr. By juxtaposing historical events and quotes with the poetic narrative, Scofield draws attention to the side of the Metis leader that most Canadians have never contemplated: that of husband, father, friend and lover, poet and visionary.

Scofield also uses the collection to raise attention about the more crucial historical events of Riel's lifetime--such as the Manitoba Resistance and the Northwest Resistance at Batoche--in order to illuminate the history of western Canadian Metis people and their struggles toward recognition. Scofield also examines Riel's own poetry, most of which was devoted to exploring religious themes. Accordingly, religious imagery features strongly in the collection, complemented by a poetic voice that is rhythmic, repetitious, and lush with potent symbolism and simple, powerful images.

About the author

Gregory Scofield is one of Canada's leading Aboriginal writers whose five collections of poetry have earned him both a national and international audience. He is known for his unique and dynamic reading style that blends oral storytelling, song, spoken word and the Cree language. His maternal ancestry can be traced back to the fur trade and to the Metis community of Kinosota, Manitoba, which was established in 1828 by the Hudson's Bay Company. His paternal ancestry is Jewish, Polish and German that is reflective of the immigrant experience to Canada at the turn of the century. His poetry and memoir, Thunder Through My Veins (HarperCollins, 1999) is taught at numerous universities and colleges throughout Canada and the U.S., and his work has appeared in many anthologies. He was the subject of a feature length documentary, Singing Home The Bones: A Poet Becomes Himself (The Maystreet Group, 2007) that aired on CHUM TV, BRAVO!, APTN, and the Saskatchewan Television Network. He has served as Writer-in-Residence at the University of Manitoba and Memorial University of Newfoundland. His latest collection, kipocihkan: Poems New & Selected (Nightwood) and the re-publication of I Knew Two Metis Women, along with the companion CD (Gabriel Dumont Institute) will be released in spring 2009. As well, his third collection of poetry, Love Medicine and One Song will be re-released by Kegedonce Press in 2009. He currently lives in Maple Ridge, B.C.

Gregory Scofield's profile page

Editorial Reviews

Librarian Reviews

Louis: The Heretic Poems

In his sixth book of poetry, Scofield enters the world of Louis Riel. Using excerpts from Riel’s writing, Catholic liturgy and the words of Sir John A. McDonald, the author explores the personal world of the controversial martyr and folk hero. Scofield breaks Riel’s persona into four perspectives or roles: the boy, the president, the spokesman and the statesman. A skillful interweaving of imagined interactions with Riel’s encounters with his contemporaries creates an original picture of how Riel might have thought and felt. Riel’s close friend Gabriel Dumont, the women of Batoche, and McDonald present their views on Riel’s predicament.

Scofield won the BC Book Prizes, Dorothy Livesay Poetry Prize in 1994.

Caution: Includes some coarse language.

Source: The Association of Book Publishers of BC. Canadian Aboriginal Books for Schools. 2012-2013.

Other titles by

The 2023 Griffin Poetry Prize Anthology

A Selection of the Shortlist

edited by Gregory Scofield

kôhkominawak ocihcîwâwa – Our Grandmothers’ Hands

Repatriating Métis Material Art

by (author) Gregory Scofield

asowacikanisa: A Guide to Small Métis Bags

by (author) Gregory Scofield & Amy Briley

Thunder Through My Veins

A Memoir

by (author) Gregory Scofield

Witness, I Am

by (author) Gregory Scofield

Indigenous Men and Masculinities

Legacies, Identities, Regeneration

edited by Robert Alexander Innes & Kim Anderson
interviewee Warren Cariou, Daniel Heath Justice, Gregory Scofield, William Kahalepuna Richards & Thomas Ka’auwai Kaulukukui
contributions by Ty P. Kawika Tengan, Brendan Hokowhitu, Niigaanwewidam James Sinclair, Sam McKegney, Bob Antone, Phillip Borell, Kimberly Minor, Richard Van Camp, Scott L. Morgensen, Robert Henry, Allison Piché, Sasha Sky, Leah Sneider, Erin Sutherland, John Swift, Lisa Tatonetti & Lloyd L. Lee

Masculindians

Conversations about Indigenous Manhood

edited by Sam McKegney
interviewee Joseph Boyden, Tomson Highway, Lee Maracle, Niigaanwewidam James Sinclair, Basil H. Johnston, Daniel David Moses, Louise Bernice Halfe, Taiaiake Alfred, Janice C. Hill, Kim Anderson, Thomas Kimeksun Thrasher, Brendan Hokowhitu, Ty P. Kawika Tengan, Warren Cariou, Alison Calder, Daniel Heath Justice, Adrian Stimson, Terrance Houle, Kateri Akiwenzie-Damm, Richard Van Camp, Joanne Arnott, Neal McLeod & Gregory Scofield
cover design or artwork by Dana Claxton

maskisina

A Guide to Northern-Style Métis Moccasins

by (author) Gregory Scofield & Amy Briley
introduction by Sherry Farrell Racette

wâpikwaniy

A Beginner’s Guide to Métis Floral Beadwork

by (author) Gregory Scofield & Amy Briley
introduction by Sherry Farrell Racette

Under god's pale bones

by (author) David Groulx
edited by Gregory Scofield

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