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River Woman
Governor General’s Award–winning Métis poet and acclaimed novelist Katherena Vermette’s second collection, river woman, explores her relationship to nature — its destructive power and beauty, its timelessness, and its place in human history.
Award-winning Métis poet and novelist Katherena Vermette’s second book of poetry, river woman, examines and celebrates love as decolonial action. Here love is defined as a force of reclamation and repair in times of trauma, and trauma is understood to exist within all times. The poems are grounded in what feels like an eternal present, documenting moments of clarity that lift the speaker (and reader) out of the illusion of linear experience. This is what we mean when we describe a work of art as being timeless.
Like the river they speak to, these poems return again and again to the same source in search of new ways to reconstruct what has been lost. Vermette suggests that it’s through language and the body ― particularly through language as it lives inside the body ― that a fragmented self might resurface as once again whole. This idea of breaking apart and coming back together is woven throughout the collection as the speaker contemplates the ongoing negotiation between the city, the land, and the water, and as she finds herself falling into trust with the ones she loves.
Vermette honours the river as a woman ― her destructive power and beauty, her endurance, and her stories. These poems sing from a place where “words / transcend ceremony / into everyday” and “nothing / is inanimate.”
Award-winning Métis poet and novelist Katherena Vermette’s second book of poetry, river woman, examines and celebrates love as decolonial action. Here love is defined as a force of reclamation and repair in times of trauma, and trauma is understood to exist within all times. The poems are grounded in what feels like an eternal present, documenting moments of clarity that lift the speaker (and reader) out of the illusion of linear experience. This is what we mean when we describe a work of art as being timeless.
Like the river they speak to, these poems return again and again to the same source in search of new ways to reconstruct what has been lost. Vermette suggests that it’s through language and the body ― particularly through language as it lives inside the body ― that a fragmented self might resurface as once again whole. This idea of breaking apart and coming back together is woven throughout the collection as the speaker contemplates the ongoing negotiation between the city, the land, and the water, and as she finds herself falling into trust with the ones she loves.
Vermette honours the river as a woman ― her destructive power and beauty, her endurance, and her stories. These poems sing from a place where “words / transcend ceremony / into everyday” and “nothing / is inanimate.”
112 pages, Paperback
First published September 25, 2018
26 people are currently reading
1300 people want to read
About the author
Katherena Vermette
35 books1,297 followersKatherena Vermette is a Canadian writer, who won the Governor General's Award for English-language poetry in 2013 for her collection North End Love Songs. Vermette is of Metis descent and from Winnipeg, Manitoba. She was a MFA student in creative writing at the University of British Columbia.
Her children's picture book series The Seven Teachings Stories was published by Portage and Main Press in 2015. In addition to her own publications, her work has also been published in the literary anthology Manitowapow: Aboriginal Writings from the Land of Water. She is a member of the Aboriginal Writers Collective of Manitoba, and edited the anthology xxx ndn: love and lust in ndn country in 2011.
Vermette has described her writing as motivated by an activist spirit, particularly on First Nations issues. The title of her book refers to Winnipeg's North End.
Her children's picture book series The Seven Teachings Stories was published by Portage and Main Press in 2015. In addition to her own publications, her work has also been published in the literary anthology Manitowapow: Aboriginal Writings from the Land of Water. She is a member of the Aboriginal Writers Collective of Manitoba, and edited the anthology xxx ndn: love and lust in ndn country in 2011.
Vermette has described her writing as motivated by an activist spirit, particularly on First Nations issues. The title of her book refers to Winnipeg's North End.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 124 reviews
March 7, 2022
new year’s eve 2013
don’t you understand
truth is a seed
planted deep
you can’t get it
unless you dig
I rarely pick up poetry — I’m not schooled in reading it and know that the craft and conventions go over my head — but there’s something very special about Katherena Vermette’s collection in river woman. Written in free verse, and often without punctuation or capitalisations, it feels like poetry as an act of decolonisation: as an author of Métis heritage, her people were here in Canada before the settlers came with their writing’s craft and conventions and her poetry feels precrafty; preconventional; I got this because it spoke straight to my heart.
Separated into three sections (black river, red river, and an other story), the poems feel broadly separated into love narratives, feminist narratives (the river as a woman), and political narratives (and with an epigraph by Chrystos that states that “poetry without politics is narcissistic and not useful to us”, Vermette is well-supported in expressing rage and resistance in her work.) I acknowledge that giving any excerpts out of context is a bit meaningless (and therefore unfair), but I can’t help but share a few lines, if only to help me remember what I found so powerful in this collection.
From black river (this is the only “shape” poem in the collection — like a sideways arch or a crescent moon — and I kept reading this one over and over; lapping my tongue around the texture)
arch
bites I nibble slow
and savour in long
languid mouthfuls
lapping my tongue
around their texture
a taste so beautiful
I miss it before
I even
swallow
From red river
riverstory
I search
for stories of the river
scratch at the surface
dig deep
pull at bits of limestone
and other forgotten things
but I can’t find them
those things we were never supposed to
lose
And from the final section, an other story
métissage / Métis Sage
my blood has been here forever
as rooted as the river
and just as much in danger
I have enjoyed reading Vermette’s novels and I appreciate the deeper dive into the author’s mindset that her poetry provides: these poems are accessible, thought-provoking, and wise; enthusiastically recommended.
October 12, 2020
dear settler
you get to pretend your ancestors
weren't given free land
a good start
strong equipment
hand outs
your grandparents took with begging hands
and help
from neighboring indians
who knew how to
hunt
make
plant
and get to pretend it didn't happen like this
but it did
we can't pretend
it doesn't matter
Vermette's poetry collection river woman was a quiet whisper that gained and rushed into a roar. Sparse words heavy with meaning. The second half of this collection was my favorite.
you get to pretend your ancestors
weren't given free land
a good start
strong equipment
hand outs
your grandparents took with begging hands
and help
from neighboring indians
who knew how to
hunt
make
plant
and get to pretend it didn't happen like this
but it did
we can't pretend
it doesn't matter
Vermette's poetry collection river woman was a quiet whisper that gained and rushed into a roar. Sparse words heavy with meaning. The second half of this collection was my favorite.
April 29, 2019
I was eager to read these poems after really enjoying a novel by the author, but didn't find a lot in this collection, if I'm being completely honest. There is one central metaphor - the river's constant nature amidst the changing ownership of lands, connection vs. disconnection of first nations vs. the colonizers. But it starts to feel repetitive, especially since most of the poems are written in the same form and style. I was craving variety in topic and form by the halfway point. They aren't bad, just a bit repetitive.
October 24, 2018
Some love poems, some sad poems, some political poems, but all are touching, beautiful poems.
December 2, 2024
"this river is full
this river is family
this river is forever
because this river
of course
is red"
Giving this a four for the message, even if some poems were really close to sounding the same. It's not a lot of them, most are different, but yeah.
The writing style reminded me of Tanya Tagaq, but less graphic. Not a lot of rhyming poetry (the kind I prefer, nothing against this book though), but you can can feel it either way.
My favourite poem was probably "when Louis Riel went crazy", and generally all the longer ones spoke to me more than the shorter ones, that's where this author shines.
I'll have to check out Vermette's non-poetry books, and see how her style translates to fiction.
this river is family
this river is forever
because this river
of course
is red"
Giving this a four for the message, even if some poems were really close to sounding the same. It's not a lot of them, most are different, but yeah.
The writing style reminded me of Tanya Tagaq, but less graphic. Not a lot of rhyming poetry (the kind I prefer, nothing against this book though), but you can can feel it either way.
My favourite poem was probably "when Louis Riel went crazy", and generally all the longer ones spoke to me more than the shorter ones, that's where this author shines.
I'll have to check out Vermette's non-poetry books, and see how her style translates to fiction.
December 27, 2019
Stunning. The anger and passion displayed in these poems is absolutely delicious. It's visceral. I've discovered that Katherena Vermette is a Canadian treasure.
Throughout the book she writes with this harnessed power. It's light in appearance yet SO weighty. The first few poems speak of the raw and natural competence of the river. As it states on the back of the book, "Vermette honours the river as a woman - her destructive power and beauty. her endurance. her stories."
Too many to choose from, but here's a little excerpt:
"when Louis Riel was hanged in 1885
my great great uncle had no land
Manitoba had become a province
Canadian surveyors came in
and Métis homesteads were dissected
bisected
halved
quartered
over and over again until
nothing was left
only a square to balance one foot on
for only one second
before they all fell over
Ottawa took it all by then
all those half breed lands
ribbon lots not "properly bought" were sold
and my ancestral uncle's home was pulled
up from under him like a rug
rolled up from river's edge
all the way to the road
tucked under Canada's collective arm
and chucked on an eastbound train
with all the other rugs
all the other
rolled-up land
became tidy
cylindrical tokens
conquered
presents to be presented
to John A
nothing more than
rolled-up grass like pressed cigars
he lit up and smoked
'til they were spent
only white
ash brushed off
red coats
and made
nothing"
I could feel her anger increase as the book read on. Page by page, poem by poem I can feel her pain and hatred increase and spill out through her words on what was done to her ancestors and Canada's native communities.
Katherena touches on some of that damage done and that continues to be done to the First Nations People in Canada. We (you know who I mean) are living on stolen land, have poisoned the waters, polluted the sky, and murdered so many of our forests. This book intensifies and greater instills that knowledge of irreparable damage that's been forced onto The First Nations People.
This was the first book of poetry I've read in my life, I am so glad I chose this one.
Throughout the book she writes with this harnessed power. It's light in appearance yet SO weighty. The first few poems speak of the raw and natural competence of the river. As it states on the back of the book, "Vermette honours the river as a woman - her destructive power and beauty. her endurance. her stories."
Too many to choose from, but here's a little excerpt:
"when Louis Riel was hanged in 1885
my great great uncle had no land
Manitoba had become a province
Canadian surveyors came in
and Métis homesteads were dissected
bisected
halved
quartered
over and over again until
nothing was left
only a square to balance one foot on
for only one second
before they all fell over
Ottawa took it all by then
all those half breed lands
ribbon lots not "properly bought" were sold
and my ancestral uncle's home was pulled
up from under him like a rug
rolled up from river's edge
all the way to the road
tucked under Canada's collective arm
and chucked on an eastbound train
with all the other rugs
all the other
rolled-up land
became tidy
cylindrical tokens
conquered
presents to be presented
to John A
nothing more than
rolled-up grass like pressed cigars
he lit up and smoked
'til they were spent
only white
ash brushed off
red coats
and made
nothing"
I could feel her anger increase as the book read on. Page by page, poem by poem I can feel her pain and hatred increase and spill out through her words on what was done to her ancestors and Canada's native communities.
Katherena touches on some of that damage done and that continues to be done to the First Nations People in Canada. We (you know who I mean) are living on stolen land, have poisoned the waters, polluted the sky, and murdered so many of our forests. This book intensifies and greater instills that knowledge of irreparable damage that's been forced onto The First Nations People.
This was the first book of poetry I've read in my life, I am so glad I chose this one.
September 1, 2020
Wow! Finally getting to read the print book is an even richer than experience than reading the eBk!
I love this book; I love this author!
This is Indigenous validation and comfort. And truly also for all humans; "How To Argue" is such a wise poem!
I heartily recommend reading and re-reading these thoughtful and powerful poems! Katherena Vermette is a new author to me, yet much celebrated—especially in Canada. She is a member of the Métis First Nation based in the Canadian province of Manitoba. Her debut poetry collection North End Love Songs won the Governor General’s Literary Award for poetry. She’s also a novelist and writes graphic novels.
River Woman opens with a quote from Chrystos, another poet. Chrystos declares that everything, including poetry is political and there is no place we can hide to escape violence and injustice and wait for it to go away. Expect many rapids in Vermette’s river connected poetry!
The title poem “River Woman” feels epic. I wish I could hear Vermette reading her own powerful words! The copyright restricts me from sharing exact quotes, so I’ll paraphrase the meaning: she is metaphorically connecting the Red River to Indigenous women and every river to humanity’s mother with visual description that is realistically raw yet still hopeful. People have manipulated rivers much like abuse experienced by women, especially Indigenous women. Her spirit and power carries on, river as woman and woman as river.
In this present moment with acute awareness of the continued injustices marginalized people endure, I am recognizing the strength found in writing inspired by rivers. I hope these riverine writings provide fortitude to stand up to injustice and boldly create equity everywhere I have influence.
I am inspired to acknowledge traditional Native lands. In my region near the Kansas (Kaw) and Wakarusa Rivers, I want to honor the Dakota, Delaware (Lenape), Kansa (Kaw), Kickapoo, Lakota, Osage, Sac and Fox, Shawnee, and actually hundreds more tribes who find connection here with Haskell Indian Nations University. As Ken Lassman (author of Wild Douglas County and Kaw Valley Almanac) noted: “Haskell Indian Nations University is the United Nations of tribes, with members of hundreds of tribes coming here over the lifetime of its existence.”
I love this book; I love this author!
This is Indigenous validation and comfort. And truly also for all humans; "How To Argue" is such a wise poem!
I heartily recommend reading and re-reading these thoughtful and powerful poems! Katherena Vermette is a new author to me, yet much celebrated—especially in Canada. She is a member of the Métis First Nation based in the Canadian province of Manitoba. Her debut poetry collection North End Love Songs won the Governor General’s Literary Award for poetry. She’s also a novelist and writes graphic novels.
River Woman opens with a quote from Chrystos, another poet. Chrystos declares that everything, including poetry is political and there is no place we can hide to escape violence and injustice and wait for it to go away. Expect many rapids in Vermette’s river connected poetry!
The title poem “River Woman” feels epic. I wish I could hear Vermette reading her own powerful words! The copyright restricts me from sharing exact quotes, so I’ll paraphrase the meaning: she is metaphorically connecting the Red River to Indigenous women and every river to humanity’s mother with visual description that is realistically raw yet still hopeful. People have manipulated rivers much like abuse experienced by women, especially Indigenous women. Her spirit and power carries on, river as woman and woman as river.
In this present moment with acute awareness of the continued injustices marginalized people endure, I am recognizing the strength found in writing inspired by rivers. I hope these riverine writings provide fortitude to stand up to injustice and boldly create equity everywhere I have influence.
I am inspired to acknowledge traditional Native lands. In my region near the Kansas (Kaw) and Wakarusa Rivers, I want to honor the Dakota, Delaware (Lenape), Kansa (Kaw), Kickapoo, Lakota, Osage, Sac and Fox, Shawnee, and actually hundreds more tribes who find connection here with Haskell Indian Nations University. As Ken Lassman (author of Wild Douglas County and Kaw Valley Almanac) noted: “Haskell Indian Nations University is the United Nations of tribes, with members of hundreds of tribes coming here over the lifetime of its existence.”
April 1, 2020
"Vermette honours the river as a woman – her destructive power and beauty, her endurance, and her stories. These poems sing from a place where "words / transcend ceremony / into everyday" and "nothing is inanimate."
-Quote from back cover of book
The poetry in this book is much more than mere words on a page. I agree with this quote from Armand Garnet Ruffo, author of The Thunderbird Poems, "river woman again displays Vermette's extraordinary gift for narrative....these are poems that gather pieces of personal experience and Indigenous history and in their sweep are bigger than the spare language we see on the page."
Have you ever seen a crow fight? I have and obviously so has Katherena Vermette. Her poem "have you ever seen a crowfight?" beautifully narrates the moves ending with a punch! I wanted to share this poem with you. Alas! Copyright rules forbid me to do it without the publishers written permission, so I deleted it before posting this review.
Katherena Vermette's poem "how to argue" uses simple words and gives excellent advice for making resolution possible between couples, groups and even nations.
Katherena Vermette has a quote from Chrystos at the beginning of this book affirming that poetry should have politics and everything is political.
I recommend taking your time when reading "river woman". Take time to reflect on each poem and think about what it is saying to you, and then what you think the poet is trying to tell you.
5 stars ⭐️️⭐️️⭐️️⭐️️⭐️️
-Quote from back cover of book
The poetry in this book is much more than mere words on a page. I agree with this quote from Armand Garnet Ruffo, author of The Thunderbird Poems, "river woman again displays Vermette's extraordinary gift for narrative....these are poems that gather pieces of personal experience and Indigenous history and in their sweep are bigger than the spare language we see on the page."
Have you ever seen a crow fight? I have and obviously so has Katherena Vermette. Her poem "have you ever seen a crowfight?" beautifully narrates the moves ending with a punch! I wanted to share this poem with you. Alas! Copyright rules forbid me to do it without the publishers written permission, so I deleted it before posting this review.
Katherena Vermette's poem "how to argue" uses simple words and gives excellent advice for making resolution possible between couples, groups and even nations.
Katherena Vermette has a quote from Chrystos at the beginning of this book affirming that poetry should have politics and everything is political.
I recommend taking your time when reading "river woman". Take time to reflect on each poem and think about what it is saying to you, and then what you think the poet is trying to tell you.
5 stars ⭐️️⭐️️⭐️️⭐️️⭐️️
January 21, 2020
This is a lovely selection of poems by Katherna Vermette.
I’m trying to expand my mind, heart, and reading list, that includes adding more contemporary poetry, and more Canadian content. Having really enjoyed this author’s novel, The Break, I was lead to her poetry.
This poetry is really quite profound. On first read, I was left feeling somewhat flat. So, on second read, I took my time to savour the words, to let them sink in and be digested before moving on. In most cases these poems really are profoundly written, and are lovely depictions of a variety of topics, reflecting deep emotion, imagery or meaning. Many of the poems speak to historical events and provide a unique perspective as well as offer great insight as to how these events have shaped contemporary issues.
This is not something to be read in one sitting, but rather to be picked up reviewed, put down and contemplated before moving forward to the next poem. I found this allowed me to better understand and appreciate the author and the power of her message. Very enjoyable read, and educational as well.
I’m trying to expand my mind, heart, and reading list, that includes adding more contemporary poetry, and more Canadian content. Having really enjoyed this author’s novel, The Break, I was lead to her poetry.
This poetry is really quite profound. On first read, I was left feeling somewhat flat. So, on second read, I took my time to savour the words, to let them sink in and be digested before moving on. In most cases these poems really are profoundly written, and are lovely depictions of a variety of topics, reflecting deep emotion, imagery or meaning. Many of the poems speak to historical events and provide a unique perspective as well as offer great insight as to how these events have shaped contemporary issues.
This is not something to be read in one sitting, but rather to be picked up reviewed, put down and contemplated before moving forward to the next poem. I found this allowed me to better understand and appreciate the author and the power of her message. Very enjoyable read, and educational as well.
February 28, 2019
Black River
The poems in this section look at love, language and breakage. All of these poems are beautiful and touch a human beauty.
I particularly enjoyed those that showed us as cracked individuals doing our best to hold together. What are we after all but imperfect and hurt, trying to do our best with what we have? Doesn't some of our beauty come from our cracks and imperfections?
Beautiful poetry.
Red River
Resilience, flow, enduring. These are lovely poems of absorption and love.
An Other Story
Wow. Beautiful poems of the past with all it's unfairness and coldness. Also poems of peace and love. These poems tell a tale while holding on to dignity.
Throughout this book these poems show resilience and strength. They show a people who see, know and continue to hope.
"
it is not history
it has not passed
there is nothing to get over
it is still happening
"
Let's hope that the day will come when there is history and it is not still happening. That there is resolution, fair, final and complete.
These are lovely and beautiful poems.
The poems in this section look at love, language and breakage. All of these poems are beautiful and touch a human beauty.
I particularly enjoyed those that showed us as cracked individuals doing our best to hold together. What are we after all but imperfect and hurt, trying to do our best with what we have? Doesn't some of our beauty come from our cracks and imperfections?
Beautiful poetry.
Red River
Resilience, flow, enduring. These are lovely poems of absorption and love.
An Other Story
Wow. Beautiful poems of the past with all it's unfairness and coldness. Also poems of peace and love. These poems tell a tale while holding on to dignity.
Throughout this book these poems show resilience and strength. They show a people who see, know and continue to hope.
"
it is not history
it has not passed
there is nothing to get over
it is still happening
"
Let's hope that the day will come when there is history and it is not still happening. That there is resolution, fair, final and complete.
These are lovely and beautiful poems.
August 5, 2018
Personal and political, playful and burning with love and loss and rage and hope - this is one of the best books of the year.
January 7, 2019
read slowly; warmth spreads through repetition.
so many surprising moments in the line breaks.
so many surprising moments in the line breaks.
April 12, 2020
Amazing amazing amazing book of poetry - it is delicate and cutting. I would highly recommend “river woman”
April 18, 2019
truth is a seed
planted deep
if you want to get it
you have to dig
This poetry combined self-love, environmentalism and reconciliation seamlessly. It was raw and passionate but also calming. Imagery used was incredible and I felt proud of my prairies as she described them. This balance is flawless throughout the poetry and I find myself re-reading often to see what details I missed, connections I didn't see and taking an opportunity to deeper explore her unique perspective. This is a pivotal poetry collection that talks about our past, present and future as told by a Metis woman. A must read!
planted deep
if you want to get it
you have to dig
This poetry combined self-love, environmentalism and reconciliation seamlessly. It was raw and passionate but also calming. Imagery used was incredible and I felt proud of my prairies as she described them. This balance is flawless throughout the poetry and I find myself re-reading often to see what details I missed, connections I didn't see and taking an opportunity to deeper explore her unique perspective. This is a pivotal poetry collection that talks about our past, present and future as told by a Metis woman. A must read!
November 29, 2019
Wow. This book actually made me cry. For anyone who reads this book, you best read this whole thing out loud, that's where the magic is. A perfect coupling of tactility and healing through fluid words reflective of water.
Favorites: river, Anishnaabemowin, riverwoman, riverevening, riverlove, riversong, this river, i write you into every word every, and an other story.
Favorites: river, Anishnaabemowin, riverwoman, riverevening, riverlove, riversong, this river, i write you into every word every, and an other story.
Read
November 22, 2018Read 3x.
Lovely, evocative and yeah, brutal. A meld of personal and political (which are honestly one and the same most of the time). Any Canadian consumer of poetry should read this.
Lovely, evocative and yeah, brutal. A meld of personal and political (which are honestly one and the same most of the time). Any Canadian consumer of poetry should read this.
April 28, 2019
A collection expertly joined together thematically, writing about love, identity, and trauma in a beautiful way.
July 6, 2019
Alternately a love letter to the river and more broadly the earth, and a callout of Canadian society and continuing colonization. Her prose is sweet like honey and brought me home to my own river.
May 28, 2024
The opening epigraph to Vermette’s poetry collection is from Chrystos, reading “there is no neutral safe space.” I like the notion of space as charged, with meaning or value, to be discovered or thrust upon by individuals who understand their humanity through the lens of the land. The theme of nature, or space, as something reactive runs throughout the collection’s three sections. In the first, titled “black river,” Vermette writes with consistent tension—between expectation and reality, creation and fate, and us and them. She frequently employs paradoxical language, in which an individual, for instance, may be known and unknown simultaneously. The effect of such language reminds the reader of the contradictions of nature and the human experience. The very first poem, “pieces,” speaks to this. Two pieces are fit together along the seams, and the effect is a whole that seems to have never been broken. Vermette positions herself as part of a whole while retaining her individuality alongside this found collective identity. I wonder to what degree her status as a Metis woman impacts her meditations on conflicting aspects of identity and the tension in being descended from both oppressor and oppressed.
In the second, titled “red river,” Vermette develops the paradoxical and, at times, complementary relationship between the elements into a meditation on motherhood, maidenhood, and creation. She writes of the river as a woman, a living and breathing thing that gives and takes life. Again, there is palpable tension here. I was struck by the poem “river woman,” from which the collection takes its name. Vermette expertly weaves in verses about the river as a mother and sister and a self. It nourishes and calms as it rages. The complexities of womanhood and the violence of being thrust into a position where one creates and gives shape to life echo throughout the poem and the section as a whole.
Finally, the last section, “an other story,” opens with an epigraph from Vietnamese poet Thich Nhat Hanh. It is crucial here that the title is “an other” and not “another.” Bearing witness to an other is important to the content of the poetry. Like Di Brandt, part of this witnessing is to the non-human. “If our hearts are big,” we read, “we can be like the river.” Once again, the metaphor is expansive. In the final eponymous poem, Vermette reflects on the country having stories “not for you, or me, but for us.” We have come full circle here to a whole that is the sum of its parts but also holistically powerful. The relationship of you and I—us—to the land underpins the entirety of the collection. It is tender, at times, and tenacious.
In the second, titled “red river,” Vermette develops the paradoxical and, at times, complementary relationship between the elements into a meditation on motherhood, maidenhood, and creation. She writes of the river as a woman, a living and breathing thing that gives and takes life. Again, there is palpable tension here. I was struck by the poem “river woman,” from which the collection takes its name. Vermette expertly weaves in verses about the river as a mother and sister and a self. It nourishes and calms as it rages. The complexities of womanhood and the violence of being thrust into a position where one creates and gives shape to life echo throughout the poem and the section as a whole.
Finally, the last section, “an other story,” opens with an epigraph from Vietnamese poet Thich Nhat Hanh. It is crucial here that the title is “an other” and not “another.” Bearing witness to an other is important to the content of the poetry. Like Di Brandt, part of this witnessing is to the non-human. “If our hearts are big,” we read, “we can be like the river.” Once again, the metaphor is expansive. In the final eponymous poem, Vermette reflects on the country having stories “not for you, or me, but for us.” We have come full circle here to a whole that is the sum of its parts but also holistically powerful. The relationship of you and I—us—to the land underpins the entirety of the collection. It is tender, at times, and tenacious.
April 18, 2025
I’m so glad indigo promoted this poetry book in a recent email of Canadian reads! (And it’s a Heather’s pick) I saw the author speak last year at a TPL event and knew about all of her novels but didn’t realize she had poetry collections as well. Really glad to have picked this one up
December 29, 2024
but this river
doesn't need your attention or your inquiry
this river is too busy
doing what she has always done--
kicking ass and taking care
this river has never been idle
she was here before you
and she will be here
long after we've all
gone
doesn't need your attention or your inquiry
this river is too busy
doing what she has always done--
kicking ass and taking care
this river has never been idle
she was here before you
and she will be here
long after we've all
gone
July 27, 2025
Stories told through poems and true stories of history embedded In poetry help the reader to learn from the heart and not just through the mind. Beautiful poems and some are connected to Saskatoon and area.
July 28, 2020
A stunning collection of poetry, "river woman" by Katherena Vermette will take you on a journey of introspection and raw emotion. Some of my favorites in this book include the very first poem "pieces." The smooth flow and placement of "arch" as it is placed on the page was not only aesthetically pleasing but also powerful and nuanced. The narrative of "river woman" (the poem) is another favorite of mine as was "riverevening"; it's final sentence "there are so many to miss" is heart wrenching. Another that touches on a similar topic, "I come from a place that" is also a striking read. And finally, another poem that really spoke to me was "métissage/Métis Sage.
Vermette has a rare talent where her words evoke emotions that the reader sometimes cannot even explain. I devoured this book in one sitting because I simply could not resist but I think "river woman" is a volume that can be picked up time and again, to be savored and enjoyed.
Vermette has a rare talent where her words evoke emotions that the reader sometimes cannot even explain. I devoured this book in one sitting because I simply could not resist but I think "river woman" is a volume that can be picked up time and again, to be savored and enjoyed.
May 18, 2019
In this poetry collection Vermette focuses on rivers, being Métis, and indigenous life..
Rivers' behavior in flowing, moving, mixing. In knowing and in strength and power and lasting and watching. Métis life as attached to the land, the forests. As belonging. Missing what was, and missing the women who have disappeared.
These poems are spare, most lines have 4 or fewer words. Their is some strong wordplay (an other/another as an example). Most refer to nature in part or in total.
My favorites were River, Back River, speak, ziibiwan (like a river), New Year's Eve 2013, métissage/Métis Sage.
Rivers' behavior in flowing, moving, mixing. In knowing and in strength and power and lasting and watching. Métis life as attached to the land, the forests. As belonging. Missing what was, and missing the women who have disappeared.
These poems are spare, most lines have 4 or fewer words. Their is some strong wordplay (an other/another as an example). Most refer to nature in part or in total.
My favorites were River, Back River, speak, ziibiwan (like a river), New Year's Eve 2013, métissage/Métis Sage.
February 27, 2019
This collection is soft, and powerful, similar in tone to Vermette’s first collection “North End Love Songs” (also worth the read). We read it out loud to each other in reading group and it was a truly meditative experience. Would be especially resonant to anyone who has a familiarity with or appreciation for Winnipeg. Many local references and hidden gems. A favourite stanza from “this river”: “how irrational is this river / this river is a bitch in a mood / she won’t let you ‘ throw anchor / where you want to / won’t let you go / ‘cause you want to.”
April 19, 2020
This collection reminded me that poetry is meant to be read aloud, which was a wonderful addition to the past week. History was infused into most of the poetry and I appreciated that just as much as the beauty of the fragments in each stanza and their impeccable circularity. She had a wonderful way of leaving no strings loose and made sure that you knew, by the end of the poem or chapter, that every single word and all their potential meanings – all of it was intentional.
October 29, 2019
A beautiful, heartrending collection. Vermette's pride in her culture and heritage really shines in the writing. Her images are thought-provoking and vivid. Loved it all.
October 3, 2022
"this river is my sister
she is bright and beautiful
and brown
sings soft every summer
holds us up all winter
and every spring she swells
reminds us we are just
visitors here
this is her country
she is that woman
her deft voice
reaches out
broken by everything that has been
thrown at into her
but somehow her spirit
rages on
somehow a song
like her never fades"
Katherena Vermette explores her relationship with nature by giving an ode to the river that sees all without prejudice and exacts its revenge to those who treat it without respect. This collection of poetry also explores the river’s dark murky water and the bodies it emtombs. At the same time, she beautifully writes about its power, its resilience and the ghosts that speak to those who listen.
she is bright and beautiful
and brown
sings soft every summer
holds us up all winter
and every spring she swells
reminds us we are just
visitors here
this is her country
she is that woman
her deft voice
reaches out
broken by everything that has been
thrown at into her
but somehow her spirit
rages on
somehow a song
like her never fades"
Katherena Vermette explores her relationship with nature by giving an ode to the river that sees all without prejudice and exacts its revenge to those who treat it without respect. This collection of poetry also explores the river’s dark murky water and the bodies it emtombs. At the same time, she beautifully writes about its power, its resilience and the ghosts that speak to those who listen.
June 23, 2020
I've never read anything from Katherena Vermette that I didn't love, and I'm an especially big fan of her poetry. River Woman is far from the exception. I love her style, I love h0w emotional and political the content is, I love the imagery she evokes, and more. River Woman is everything I hope for when I pick up a collection of poetry. I loved this. Highly recommended.
November 25, 2025
Gorgeous yet accessible poetry juxtaposing love and Indigeneity, in particular, the history of the Métis people and the rivers that nourish their people and land. Beautiful language, imagery and history woven together like a beaded bracelet.
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