Undoing Hours

by Selina Boan

Selina Boan’s debut poetry collection, Undoing Hours , considers the various ways we undo, inherit, reclaim and (re)learn. Boan’s poems emphasize sound and breath; they tell stories of meeting family, of experiencing love and heartbreak, and of learning new ways to express and understand the world around her through the Nêhiyawêwan language. As a settler and urban nehiyaw who grew up disconnected from her father’s family and community, Boan initially turns to language as one way to challenge the impact and legacy of assimilation policies and colonization on her own being and the landscapes she inhabits. Exploring the nexus of language and power, the effects of which are both far-reaching and deeply intimate, these poems consider the ways language impacts the way we view and construct the world around us, and what it means to be a moniyaw/nehiyaw woman actively building community and working to ground herself through language and relationships. Boan writes from a place of linguistic tension, tenderness, and care, creating space to ask questions and to imagine intimate decolonial futures.

Genres: Poetry, Indigenous, Canada

96 pages, Paperback

First published April 24, 2021

Reviews

[jaye simpson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Selina breaks the rules in her much anticipated collection of poetry “Undoing Hours”, she betrays the very institutions of CanLit and unapologetically and vulnerably shared her voice in a resounding and triumph “I am here.”. This collection is an absolute must read for any fan of Indigenous literature, but also those who enjoy poetry. This collection will blow you away and return you comfortably home.

[Kelly · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow. I want to send a copy to everyone I love and miss. There is such deep knowing sadness and care in this collection - it feels like the long, tearful hug with our friends and loves that we all so desperately need right now.

"a girl grows up only to trip again
falls into her not-knowing like a knife
dreams every season, a birth" — in the six, the seasons

[Leah Horlick · Rating 5 out of 5]

I took a glorious few weeks to read Boan's much-anticipated debut so I could savour these truly incredible, jaw-dropping poems and cry (so much crying! in public! into my mask!) at so many astonishing images, turns, and moments. I could have cheered aloud at the endings of the last few poems in particular - this collection is a stunner.

[Lio · Rating 5 out of 5]

Several of these poems are to die for. The rest are also enjoyable.

[Molly · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow, I don't even really know where to begin with this book. "Undoing Hours" is a stunning debut about losing and finding family, losing and finding language, and losing and finding self. This book will appeal equally to seasoned readers of poetry and beginners. It truly lives outside the bounds of time, at the same time modern and ancient in its exploration of our need to love and be loved.

A few favourite lines:

"...rock, paper, river, you girl / are a gamble made during the planting of / trees..."

"serena / is hot glue pressing herself to the party's seams / is inside a sex dream about maggie gyllenhaal / is sliding marshmallows onto her fingers / is hot fries."

" u are enough when scrambling eggs / when checking the mail in sweatpants is all u can do for today"

[OK · Rating 5 out of 5]

Oh, this is a gorgeous collection. Undoing Hours is about losing and longing, love, kinship, grief, belonging. It’s about wanting to hold onto that which can never be pinned down — a person, a lover, a language, a “stack of unending hours”. Boan writes about desire with equal parts hunger and grace, forgiveness and self-indictment. I read the collection twice and was stunned by how many new layers emerged. Undoing Hours is honest and intelligent work. It leaves you wide open.

[e · Rating 5 out of 5]

I can't wait to re-read this collection already

[Michelle Robert]

Read for class

[Kayleigh Wiebe · Rating 4 out of 5]

Short and powerful. This is a collection that grows on impact with each read, and warrants revisiting. I ended up re-reading large swaths of this book, and I’m glad I did. Each read resonated differently with me, and allowed me to open up more every time.

[Courtney LeBlanc · Rating 4 out of 5]

A collection of poems about identity, language, family, and love.

from the plot so far: "i wanted so many ways / to settle / our hearts / a window / a plot / a piece of land we wanted to call our own but was / not ours to name"

from with love,: "we twenty and age curl fear up curl up against cellphone / light swipe ourselves into mourning // we roommate and fall in love, too / in the dark one night the most tender first kiss shy and hissing // some nights, time stretches itself under door light from our closed bedrooms"

from 2.1.a questions and answers: "he told me particles in the air make for good sunsets // held my loss between his shoulder blades // a leak in memory // a love story that doesn't travel all thew ay to the end // what are endings tho // but another way to know time"

[Ollie Ander · Rating 4 out of 5]

The poems in this collection were interesting and had a variety of styles, which was quite refreshing. Going through the poems they seemed to develop, with the longer ones near the end showing the writer's growth. I'd really like to read more poems in the style of "__" word in native language, with a small poem to define it. Very beautiful.

The version I was reading on was not formatted very well, and it made a lot of the poems misaligned, and lines' impact got missed. Specifically the poems that spaced their lines with tabs. I've never read a book with tab spaced poems in proper format so I don't quite know what they're supposed to read like anyway, unfortunately, but I'm assuming not like that.

[Lea · Rating 5 out of 5]

I am captivated by the way these poems express the effort to know/re-know/learn/remember/hold onto a language. This collection feels so rich with experiences and awareness and self compassion. I found each one so inspiring. My favourite was: email drafts to nohtâwiy.

“you and i, like aspen talking to each other underground”

“we both steady ourselves for the next thousand years.”

[Rhea Tregebov · Rating 5 out of 5]

Selina Boan's debut book of poetry undoes the reader with its expressiveness, strength and experimental rigor. Read this book with a Cree dictionary at your side and prepare to unlearn many assumptions. What a powerhouse this writer is.

[Lindsay · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.75 stars

From “all you can is the best you can”: i once shoved my foot through glass / getting to know my own anger / its patches of stupid / bloody love / stress is just a socially acceptable / word for fear / i’m ashamed of feeling too much

[Rachel B Jansen · Rating 5 out of 5]

A stunning, visceral collection

[Lindsay Victoria · Rating 4 out of 5]

Loved the way she played with language and time, and earths connection to both

[Sonia · Rating 5 out of 5]

Dynamic, electric, but relatable. I highly recommend reading this book

[Meaghan Boyd · Rating 5 out of 5]

A beautiful collection. My favourites poems were "with love," and "ongoing conversations with nitêh"

[nitebeing · Rating 5 out of 5]

this is magic selina~ thank u for sharing~
sending love for you & your journey <3