The Response of Weeds: A Misplacement of Black Poetry on the Prairies

by Bertrand Bickersteth

Bertrand Bickersteth's debut poetry collection explores what it means to be black and Albertan through a variety of prisms: historical, biographical, and essentially, geographical. The Response of Weeds offers a much-needed window on often overlooked contributions to the province's character and provides personal perspectives on the question of black identity on the prairies. Through these rousing and evocative poems, Bickersteth uses language to call up the contours of the land itself, land that is at once mesmerizing as it is dismissively effacing. Such is black identity here on this paradoxical land, too.

Genres: Poetry, Canada, History, Race

108 pages, Paperback

First published April 1, 2020

Reviews

[Emmkay]

Poetry exploring the experiences of Black Canadians on the Prairies. The author incorporates references to a host of historical figures and the rhythm of jazz. He contrasts the experience of Black Prairie residents being asked where they're from with what is in fact a long history in the area, imagining the lives of Black fur traders, cowboys, and settlers. And did you know that the Peace and Slave rivers meet in Alberta? Evocative and educational - I kept flipping back to the list of individuals and short bios at the beginning of the book to piece together the references, and was hungry to learn more. There's an interesting article here Bertrand Bickersteth's The Response of Weeds poetically explores the Black Canadian experience in full bloom, but I'd like to read more of the history. 3.5.

[Vidu]

I've never had the pressure of being the first reviewer on goodreads before, but I guess I'll try. I don't know much about poetry and admittedly I don't try to seek them out as much as I probably should. So in a literary sense I have no idea how to rate this collection. I can only go by my reactions and emotions to a very surface level reading of the text. And it was very good and rewarding. I have a ton of historical figures that I am clueless about to look up now. The only person I was fairly familiar with was Hattie McDaniel, and wow knowing her backstory really did make an impact on my reading of the poem about her. There were many details and nuances here that flew over my head, and when I get my hands on a physical copy of this text, I am going to annotate the hell out of it so that I can better my understanding. But there were many that really did hit me emotionally, which seems to be how I gauge my engagement with poetry on a first reading. There's a lot here about microagressions and something that stood out to me was the comparison between these incidents in a historical setting and similar moments happening in our contemporary society. That whole "best friend" thing, damn. But yeah, an amazing read for sure. I want to find out more about the contents of this text.

[Alexis]

I cannot say enough good things about this poetry collection. It's written by a Black man from Alberta and he writes about landscape, place, Blackness, prairie and uses Black icons in the work. I really loved this book.

[Brianna]

Poetry collections have always been (and probably always will be) one of the types of books I find hardest to review, but I have vowed to write down my thoughts on every book I read in 2022, so I will try.

Bickersteth has collected a wide array of poetry from all sorts of different poets within this collection. The representation was not only Black, but also Indigenous, which was a pleasant surprise. I liked the organization of the poems, and found the majority of them to be compelling, heartfelt, and thought-provoking. I enjoyed the fact that these poems centred around the prairies, because that is where I am from, so I had a special connection to these poems in this way.

I would recommend this poetry anthology, but I don't have anything much more to say about it. It's the kind of experience you'll just have to try for yourself.

[Cat]

The Response of Weeds is a powerful and evocative poetry collection that thoughtfully explores Black identity, place, history, and belonging on the Canadian Prairies. Bickersteth’s attention to landscape and overlooked experiences gives the poems a distinctive voice and makes the collection a meaningful contribution to Canadian poetry.

[Kat Edwards]

Favourite poems from the collection:
The Peace
The Athabasca
Three Mills on the Prairies: Harry Mills, the Music is Passing
Milk River
The North Saskatchewan
Henry Bibb on the Prairies
Out of Darkness

[Scott Wall]

3-3.5

interesting collection - though you need some historical sensibility/curiosity to track. will return to some of my favs, for sure.

[Alycia]

'The chronic weakness:
a chunk of the past
recast as the recurring
question of home.'

from "Clark Kent on the Prairies"

[kdburton]

❤️

Exceptional collection about the place I live and the harm that has and continues to breed in it.

— library book

[Shinemoos]

I signed up for Mr Bickerseth’s talk on Canadian black cowboy history at the public library. Honest, fun, knowledgeable, creative, he is a natural poet, words flow out of him as poetry. That’s all the cultures and lands that have nurtured him speaking, that’s his sensitive soul shining after rain and rain of reflection. Beautiful. Bringing me to tears.