Procession - by Katherena Vermette (Paperback)

About the Book

"Bestselling novelist and Governor General's Award-winning poet katherena vermette's third collection presents a series of poems reaching into what it means to be (at once) a descendant and a future ancestor, exploring the connections we have with one another and ourselves, amongst friends, and within families and Nations."--Provided by publisher.

Book Synopsis

procession: a line of people moving in the same direction; a formal ceremony or celebration, as in a wedding, a funeral, a religious parade. Bestselling novelist and Governor General's Award-winning poet katherena vermette's third collection presents a series of poems reaching into what it means to be (at once) a descendant and a future ancestor, exploring the connections we have with one another and ourselves, amongst friends, and within families and Nations.

In frank, heartfelt poems that move through body sovereignty and ancestral dreams, and from '80s childhood nostalgia to welcoming one's own babies, vermette unreels the story of a child, a parent, and soon, an elder, living in a prairie place that has always existed, though it looks much different to her now. This book is about being one small part of a large genealogy. A lineage is a line, and the procession, whether in celebration or in mourning, is ongoing.

Review Quotes

"This book charts a lifelong journey ... [vermette] boldly outlines the weight of the responsibilities we can choose to inherit from those who came before us." -- The Literary Review of Canada

"Self to family lineage to nation. This procession echoes the sense of expansiveness that characterizes the collection as a whole." -- Winnipeg Free Press

"Captivating." -- The Miramichi Reader

"A plainspoken voice yields gems of beauty and brilliance." -- Publishers Weekly