Crushed Wild Mint

by Jess Housty

Crushed Wild Mint is a collection of poems embodying land love and ancestral wisdom, deeply rooted to the poet’s motherland and their experience as a parent, herbalist and careful observer of the patterns and power of their territory. Jess Housty grapples with the natural and the supernatural, transformation and the hard work of living that our bodies are doing—held by mountains, by oceans, by ancestors and by the grief and love that come with communing. Housty’s poems are textural—blossoms, feathers, stubborn blots of snow—and reading them is a sensory offering that invites the reader’s whole body to be transported in the experience. Their writing converses with mountains, animals and all our kin beyond the human realm as they sit beside their ancestors’ bones and move throughout the geography of their homeland. Housty’s exploration of history and futurity, ceremony and sexuality, grieving and thriving invites us to look both inward and outward to redefine our sense of community. Through these poems we can explore living and loving as a practice, and placemaking as an essential part of exploring our humanity and relationality.

Genres: Poetry, Indigenous, Canada

132 pages, Paperback

Published April 16, 2024

Reviews

[Sadie Hartmann · Rating 4 out of 5]

review tomorrow!

[jac · Rating 5 out of 5]

jess housty has a gift for disappearing the space between the body and the land.

[Vanessa · Rating 5 out of 5]

words I'll want to revisit.

[Cat · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved this book from start to finish, so many pages marked with my favourite poems—it is difficult to find just one or two titles to mention here as there were so many that stuck out to me. The imagery is especially unique and well-written, the meaning is also apparent despite the metaphorical language, which I appreciated :)

[Magdelanye · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the directionally of prayer-
it is moving all around us and through time.

As you bend to your harvests,
pray to the future and ask the yarrow
to embody those prayers, to pass them down
the family lines....

from the poem on p 8
Bowing to Yarrow

Stories require witnesses
and the witnesses are not always
human kin.

from the poem on p93
Mountains Teach Us

Body as landscape and landscape as body of the beloved, these poems are visceral, serene and disturbing. Jess Housty writes with feeling and authority yielding a grounded mysticism and unexpected insights for the careful reader.

There is hurt in this world;
only a river can make it right.

from the poem Wa p65

[Allison · Rating 3 out of 5]

summer 2025 reaching challenge - read a book of poetry / read a book by an indigenous author

[Chels Patterson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Crushed Wild Mint by Jess Housty

Is ethereal.

This is a work of poetry: which can have each poem be read alone but it seems to have more meaning when read together. There is a point where you feel as though you are climbing a mountain with the narrator. And it hits all the right spots like good poetry does!

My favorite poems were Spring, and Crushed Wild Mint. They felt healing, as it was a spring-like day when I read them. And I enjoyed the encouragement to breathe as I read.

Crushed Wild Mint is exactly what you expect from an ethereal work of poetry. It’s perfect for a nature day in the meadow or mountain top, witnessing nature in the poem whilst you experience nature. It gives both more meaning.

I highly enjoyed it.

This book is for anyone who enjoys poetry, nature, Canadian writers and indigenous authors.

[diane jean⋆˚꩜｡ · Rating 4 out of 5]

this was such a gorgeous, ethereal collection of poetry. i absolutely loved so many of the poems and how they incorporated the natural world in such a magically lyrical way.

[Nicole Bergen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Beautiful and moving, with an abundance of plants, which I love.

[Nathaniel · Rating 5 out of 5]

I will be rereading this when I get my hands on a personal copy. I need to annotate it.

[Joelle Wyminga · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is one of my new favourite poetry books. Stunning.

[Lindsay · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.75 stars. From “h̓ṇq̓vṇ́x̌”: We owe such a debt / to the tenderness of mountains / and to the fog that teaches us / to remember.

[geo]

There is hurt in this world;
only a river can make it right.

If you carry the hard shape
of unknowing
snagged between your collarbones,
the river will flow around it
and the water will lift it away.

[Émilie M · Rating 5 out of 5]

A wonderful invitation to explore our connection with our surrounding and inner nature

[Sophia Wasylinko · Rating 5 out of 5]

A beautiful, moving collection of poetry connecting humans to the land, nature, and each other, reminding readers that it is all right to rest and take time to heal ("Breath") or grieve. There's so much vivid imagery comparing plants and natural bodies - such as rivers and mountains - to parts of the body, leading to more intimate pieces such as "Stone."
Other highlights include "luáɫ" (moving between rooms of Housty's deceased grandmother's house); "To the scientist who called my beloved salmonberries 'insipid'" (humorous yet condemning colonial scientists who dismiss Indigenous ways of knowing and living); "Instructions for Climbing q̓áǧṃ̓i"; and "Y̓úzua" (retelling the story of how q̓áǧṃ̓i helped his brother Mṇ́sǧṃ́x̌λi grow taller and survive the Flood). Each poem is carefully crafted and should be read slowly in order to digest and linger longer in the reader's consciousness. More people need to read "Crushed Wild Mint."

[Melitta Jackson · Rating 4 out of 5]

I don't really read poetry. Feels like once every couple years I'll pick it up. This cover attracted me, and seeing that it was from an indigenous, herbalist from British Columbia peaked my interest.

I'd like to give poetry more of a try, as ultimately there were a couple pieces in here that really resonated with me. But also knowing that poetry is so personal to the author, that there's bound to be pieces that just don't connect, because I'm not them. I haven't lived their life. And that's OK. It was just really nice to read poetry at the end of the day rather then scrolling. I appreciated the imagery a lot of it brought to mind.

[alexa · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lord, how I wish I was more of an outdoorsy person! This would be a fantastic collection to read lakeside or a mountain. An Indigenous voice on the relationship between the body and the earth. The vibes are tender and tangible, her voice reads sort of like a preaching but not in a condescending or patronizing way, rather like an elder or a loving grandmother. Centres on the interconnectedness of nature and self, offers ways to think and navigate through life.

Standouts:

Nearshore Prayer
Mirror-Touch Synethesia
Luát
Aunties
2.20.22
Gwani taught me
Transformation
Hļxbís
Shore
Prayer II

[Cristina · Rating 5 out of 5]

A true balm for the soul.

This poetry collection was exactly what I needed. It embodies themes of grief, love and gratitude. The imagery is a vivid blend of the physical world (humans, other living things and nature) and the untangible world. I highly recommend!

I borrowed this book at the library, but I will definitely buy a physical copy that I will reread and cherish.

Thank you Jess Housty. Looking forward to your next books.

[Monte · Rating 5 out of 5]

A lyrical, moving collection rooted in the body and the land. These poems were soft and deep, ecstatic and aching. I felt held by these poems. “Wá” was the standout for me, a gentle but penetrating grief poem that had me crying over my lunch.

Not only are these poems layered and rich, they’re also accessibly written. This is a wonderful choice for poetry lovers and newbies alike.

[Ashley]

It always feels wrong to rate poetry.
I really appreciate the lens Jess brings to her words. Weaving the created with the creator and the continuation of ancestors through time. Most titles are in her native language which most readers won't ever really understand and adds to how personal this collection is to her. I will definitely pick up this collection again.

[Degan Walters · Rating 5 out of 5]

Beautiful selection of poems centring a connection to spirituality and nature. I love the symbolism and metaphor but also the deep connection to land and the natural world, expressed powerfully and gently in words.

[Sami Al-Khalili · Rating 3 out of 5]

She writes an offering to her readers that invites a deeper relationship to being alive and to being on earth. I believe this poetry collection will serve another person at the library as for me, I shall pass.

[Rhoddi · Rating 4 out of 5]

I haven't read poetry in a while so this was super refreshing, both in texture and content. The poet obviously loves nature and the sense of joy, wonder, and community it gives. I'm really glad I gave this one a go.

[Jey · Rating 5 out of 5]

Truly, a most beautiful collection of poetry. If I am ever to recommend a collection, it would be this one. There is something wild and growing in these pages and it is liberating as much as it is soothing. Wildly creative. And also grounding.

[Mary Drift · Rating 5 out of 5]

Captivating, remarkable, thought provoking, grounding are all words to describe this collection of poems. Indigenous wisdom and ways of life were woven in so beautifully it brought me to tears at times. Miigwech. I can’t wait to see what thus author blesses us with next.

[Patricia · Rating 5 out of 5]

Beautiful!!! Such a way of describing our connection to nature. A slow read to enjoy the complexity of the language and settings.

[Natalie B · Rating 5 out of 5]

So glad I got to hear Jess Housty read some poems from this in Toronto.

[Patrick Fassnacht · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not usually a poetry reader.. and loved, no, needed, this one.
Will revisit passages pretty often, I'm sure.

[Jbondandrews · Rating 5 out of 5]

A beautiful collection of poems.

[Celia Brogan · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was such a beautiful and heart-rendering experience. Cleansing, emotional, wonderful.