E. Pauline Johnson, Tekahionwake: Collected Poems and Selected Prose

Pauline Johnson was one of Canada's greatest poets, whose works spanned from the 1880s to the 1910s. Just being a successful female poet at a time when women had few public roles would have been an achievement in itself. But, just as importantly, she was half Native American, on her father's side. (Her mother was English.)The book contains most of her poems. Many of these deal with her Native heritage. Written in perfect English. Historically important, because they form an articulate expression of a direct experience of being dispossessed of land and society. She was of a generation of Natives to which these events happened. The anguish tumbles out of the verses. The British-Canadian conquest of the land may not have been as bloody as the US experience, but it was scarcely done with the consent of the weaker.Also included in the book are several of her short stories. Again, these often have a Native theme and bring out a Native viewpoint. Not some idealised imaginings of a European writer.Wonderful that her works are made so easily available here, to new generations.