Thomas King
He broke ground as an Indigenous writer, with many accolades and rewards and remains under-celebrated. I also loved his Massy Lecture.
Lenore Keeshig
When I first heard her read poetry back in 1993 she inspired me to be a poet. When I heard her read poetry two years ago, I got that same feeling.
Liz Howard
She is an intersectional success! She is the youngest female Indigenous poet to win the Griffin Poetry Prize and her poetry voice is so definite and confident.
Vine Deloria and Vine Deloria Jr.
This inter-generational duo contributed so much to raising the Indigenous consciousness. Their writing also influenced much of what we see exist now as Indigenous PolySci and Creative Non-Fiction.
Lillian Allen
I was a fan of Lillian Allen and followed her career before ever dreaming of becoming a poet myself. Through her fearless efforts she has initiated many programs and events which celebrate poets and poetry and continues to inspire generations of new poets with her socially liberating poems
Janet Rogers is a poet, media artist, sound and performance artist. She is Mohawk/Tuscarora and lives on the Six Nations Reserve. Her sixth and current poetry collection As Long As the Sun Shines (Bookland Press 2018) was released in the Mohawk Language in 2019 and will soon be available in the French language. Janet is a producer of film with 2Ro Media and producer of radio docs and podcasts with Native Wavez Radio.