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Inquiries
**SHORTLISTED FOR THE 2020 PAT LOWTHER MEMORIAL AWARD** **LONGLISTED FOR THE MIRAMICHI READER'S 'THE VERY BEST!' BOOK AWARD**
In poems that risk the comingling of anger and elegy, poetry and documentation, humour and the dark spectre of poverty, Michelle Porter’s Inquiries oscillates at its edges, and amplifies the presence of human strength as it keeps company with our enigmatic and ever-present nemeses. This is a startling debut where the line between reality and reality television blurs, where a simple trip to the grocery store unifies mother and daughter in struggle, and where an economics of iniquity proves the existence of love as equality. With wit, poise, raw emotion, and versatility, Inquiries announces the emergence of an impressive new talent.
In poems that risk the comingling of anger and elegy, poetry and documentation, humour and the dark spectre of poverty, Michelle Porter’s Inquiries oscillates at its edges, and amplifies the presence of human strength as it keeps company with our enigmatic and ever-present nemeses. This is a startling debut where the line between reality and reality television blurs, where a simple trip to the grocery store unifies mother and daughter in struggle, and where an economics of iniquity proves the existence of love as equality. With wit, poise, raw emotion, and versatility, Inquiries announces the emergence of an impressive new talent.
- GenresPoetry
96 pages, Paperback
Published June 30, 2019
35 people want to read
About the author
Michelle Porter
31 books117 followersMICHELLE PORTER is the descendent of a long line of Métis storytellers. Many of her ancestors told stories using music and today she tells stories using the written word. She holds degrees in Journalism, Folklore, English, and a PhD in Geography. Her academic research and creative work focus on home, memory, and women’s changing relationships with the land.
Her book A Grandmother Begins the Story: A Novel will be published November 7, 2023.
Her most recent book, Scratching River, a memoir exploring the meaning of her Métis heritage through her older brother’s life story, was published by Wilfrid Laurier Press in April 2022. She’s also published a book of creative nonfiction about her great-grandfather, a fiddler from the Red River, called Approaching Fire (shortlisted for the Indigenous Voices Award 2021) and a book of poetry, Inquiries, (shortlisted for the Pat Lowther Memorial Award). Michelle has won numerous awards for her poetry and journalism and her work has been published in literary journals and magazines across the country. Currently she is teaching creative writing and Métis Literature at Memorial University. She is a member of the Manitoba Métis Federation and she lives in St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador.
Her book A Grandmother Begins the Story: A Novel will be published November 7, 2023.
Her most recent book, Scratching River, a memoir exploring the meaning of her Métis heritage through her older brother’s life story, was published by Wilfrid Laurier Press in April 2022. She’s also published a book of creative nonfiction about her great-grandfather, a fiddler from the Red River, called Approaching Fire (shortlisted for the Indigenous Voices Award 2021) and a book of poetry, Inquiries, (shortlisted for the Pat Lowther Memorial Award). Michelle has won numerous awards for her poetry and journalism and her work has been published in literary journals and magazines across the country. Currently she is teaching creative writing and Métis Literature at Memorial University. She is a member of the Manitoba Métis Federation and she lives in St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador.
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
November 17, 2019
"as a girl
she could turn into a river.
when she wanted to get away from here and go there, she only had to lay down
and lean into the easiest route.
the going and arriving happened all at once
she was always tumbling down rocks and cliffs
beneath the slant of the sun at the same time as she
pooled, still as a mountain, at the place she never, ever
finished going to."
•
Thoughts~
What a beautiful collection wraught with raw emotion and history. These poems are inundated with family, love, anger, home, and poverty written from an Indigenous girls perspective of her Canadian upbringing with her mother.
Porter's attention to detail is remarkably vivid. Really capturing this life down to the smallest details. Her words transported me into the poems themselves. It all felt so personal. I particularly loved the poems about "Mamas Kitchens". Overall these poems are fuelled by the strength of the human spirit. Porter has such a talent, this collection solidifies her presence. Looking forward to more from her and I will definitely be returning to this one again.
•
Thank you to the publisher for sending me this book opinions are my own.
•
For more of my book content check out instagram.com/bookalong
she could turn into a river.
when she wanted to get away from here and go there, she only had to lay down
and lean into the easiest route.
the going and arriving happened all at once
she was always tumbling down rocks and cliffs
beneath the slant of the sun at the same time as she
pooled, still as a mountain, at the place she never, ever
finished going to."
•
Thoughts~
What a beautiful collection wraught with raw emotion and history. These poems are inundated with family, love, anger, home, and poverty written from an Indigenous girls perspective of her Canadian upbringing with her mother.
Porter's attention to detail is remarkably vivid. Really capturing this life down to the smallest details. Her words transported me into the poems themselves. It all felt so personal. I particularly loved the poems about "Mamas Kitchens". Overall these poems are fuelled by the strength of the human spirit. Porter has such a talent, this collection solidifies her presence. Looking forward to more from her and I will definitely be returning to this one again.
•
Thank you to the publisher for sending me this book opinions are my own.
•
For more of my book content check out instagram.com/bookalong
July 12, 2023
Devangana:
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️.5
The poems in Inquiries are all intertwined, taking a hard look at the hardscrabble life of a Métis woman and her children eking out a living near the Red River (and sometimes in NL), moving when the rent cannot be paid, leaving memories and items behind (a dollhouse that wouldn't fit in the station waggon, gym sneakers left in a school locker).
Inquires Poems was such a theme experience that made me feel so many emotions, and everything was written so well. It felt like such a warm book to look back on, and each reader will have a unique experience based on their prior experiences. However, the author was able to clearly represent a message in each poem. The top three themes that stood out to me were sacrificial love, coming of age, and family. And I can't emphasise how profound and passionate each poem was for me.
The layout of several poems was something I didn't like and took away from the overall reading experience. It felt like broken sentences and incomplete thoughts followed by complete thoughts. Some poems had disconnected layouts, as seen in the last photo.
Some of my favourite poems included:
To the Last Cent: Mama's Kitchen V
Tulips (on my counter) are Dying
Feast Day
It was heartbreaking to witness the suffering of this particular Metis mom and her children. This made me think about reconciliation with Indigenous Peoples in particular. This is an excellent book for raising awareness of the MMIWG. This is a a powerful book that filled me with various emotions and transported me into a euphoria.
The Inquires Poems receive a 4.5/5 from me. It's a really fantastic book for someone who wants to be more aware of the happenings and challenges of many individuals in our society, and I have to suggest that you should not pass up the opportunity to read it. When you read it, you not only feel more awakened, but you also begin to reflect on yourself.
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️.5
The poems in Inquiries are all intertwined, taking a hard look at the hardscrabble life of a Métis woman and her children eking out a living near the Red River (and sometimes in NL), moving when the rent cannot be paid, leaving memories and items behind (a dollhouse that wouldn't fit in the station waggon, gym sneakers left in a school locker).
Inquires Poems was such a theme experience that made me feel so many emotions, and everything was written so well. It felt like such a warm book to look back on, and each reader will have a unique experience based on their prior experiences. However, the author was able to clearly represent a message in each poem. The top three themes that stood out to me were sacrificial love, coming of age, and family. And I can't emphasise how profound and passionate each poem was for me.
The layout of several poems was something I didn't like and took away from the overall reading experience. It felt like broken sentences and incomplete thoughts followed by complete thoughts. Some poems had disconnected layouts, as seen in the last photo.
Some of my favourite poems included:
To the Last Cent: Mama's Kitchen V
Tulips (on my counter) are Dying
Feast Day
It was heartbreaking to witness the suffering of this particular Metis mom and her children. This made me think about reconciliation with Indigenous Peoples in particular. This is an excellent book for raising awareness of the MMIWG. This is a a powerful book that filled me with various emotions and transported me into a euphoria.
The Inquires Poems receive a 4.5/5 from me. It's a really fantastic book for someone who wants to be more aware of the happenings and challenges of many individuals in our society, and I have to suggest that you should not pass up the opportunity to read it. When you read it, you not only feel more awakened, but you also begin to reflect on yourself.
January 16, 2020
“When the electric mixer broke
…
Told her kids whipping cream by hand
tastes better.”
In many ways Michelle Porter’s poetry comes to embody the very essence of living in Canada today. Her poetry takes you from B.C. to Newfoundland in a relatable way, but it does so baring the truth about our current economic status. Her poetry creates imagery, sounds, and smells that reflect the reality of each location she writes from; anyone who has lived in either of the places she writes from will feel as if they have been in the same rooms as she has.
Porter writes from a Metis lens and her work provides short but deep glimpse into some of the issues faced by the aboriginal population. Her poetry reads biographical, but in such a way that she herself becomes a synecdoche for her greater familial roots.
On a separate note, Porter lived on Tessier Place—a street I walked by every day for work—right above the location of a murder as it happened. The murder became a strange marker in my own life, as it seems to have for Porter as well. It was fascinating reading her viewpoint of this event and where she was in her life at that time as I think back on where I was.
4/5
…
Told her kids whipping cream by hand
tastes better.”
In many ways Michelle Porter’s poetry comes to embody the very essence of living in Canada today. Her poetry takes you from B.C. to Newfoundland in a relatable way, but it does so baring the truth about our current economic status. Her poetry creates imagery, sounds, and smells that reflect the reality of each location she writes from; anyone who has lived in either of the places she writes from will feel as if they have been in the same rooms as she has.
Porter writes from a Metis lens and her work provides short but deep glimpse into some of the issues faced by the aboriginal population. Her poetry reads biographical, but in such a way that she herself becomes a synecdoche for her greater familial roots.
On a separate note, Porter lived on Tessier Place—a street I walked by every day for work—right above the location of a murder as it happened. The murder became a strange marker in my own life, as it seems to have for Porter as well. It was fascinating reading her viewpoint of this event and where she was in her life at that time as I think back on where I was.
4/5
September 18, 2019
All in all, Inquiries is an example of the power of a poet's pen. How they can distill and summarize emotions, places and events into a few sentences amazes me and always will. Full review: http://bit.ly/InquiriesPoems
December 14, 2022
Tender, immersive, evocative and playful. A wonderful collection of poems about place, family, relationships, poverty, belonging and more. Porter's skill in capturing the poetry in the everyday is impressive. I loved it.
January 3, 2023
Porter paints such vivid images in her poetry and her poems hold such strong emotions that you can almost feel the pain, the love, and the bittersweet nostalgia she feels.
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews