A Family of Dreamers

by Samantha Nock

In this debut poetry collection, Samantha Nock redefines where and what “home” is. A Family of Dreamers delves into the complexities of growing up in rural northeast British Columbia and the love and grief that blooms there. In this debut collection, Samantha Nock weaves together threads of fat liberation, desirability politics, and heartbreak while working through her existence as a young Indigenous woman coming of age in the city. The result is a love song to northern cuzzins, dive bars, and growing up.

Genres: Poetry

112 pages, Paperback

Published September 26, 2023

Reviews

[Francesca Forrest · Rating 5 out of 5]

Truly beautiful collection that I read through very slowly, picking it up occasionally. I really was able to appreciate each poem.

There are certain metaphors she uses frequently (unmaking and remaking the body, for instance), but they always felt fresh and right. She had both wise and furious insights: momentary flares of feeling and others that were like the horizon.

I really loved the collection: I loved the poems as poems, and I also really liked Samantha Nock's insights. Very glad I own this. Will have to quote some of these poems on various social medias in the hope of bringing other people to the collection (I myself came to it thanks to someone quoting a poem on Dreamwidth.)

[Boxofdelights · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book of poems doesn't have the beauty of language that keeps me repeating lines to myself to enjoy them again, but it does use precise details and vivid metaphors to communicate things that are hard to put into words, like

i am sovereign territory
that i share in treaty with
these accidental and terrible gifts.

comparing the experience of being an indigenous person living in colonized land with the engrained survival strategies that come from embodied trauma.

[Rachel · Rating 5 out of 5]

Standout debut that encapsulates how it feels to grieve a rural hometown, adolescence, and family. Required reading for my lit class, but should be for all twenty somethings who think moving to a big city will allow you to outrun your past.

I actually lost my copy and have since checked it out multiple times at the library. I think I lent it out to someone who needed it more than I did at the time, but here I am. Still writing and thinking about it.

[Jay · Rating 5 out of 5]

um made me feel things, was a good experience. Felt very connected to the writing style and feelings during the poems. May or may not have struggled to not tear up during some.