Really Good Brown Girl

Marilyn Dumont's Metis heritage offers her challenges that few of us welcome. Here she turns them into opportunities: in a voice that is fierce, direct, and true, she explores and transcends the multiple boundaries imposed by society on the self. She mocks, with exasperation and sly humor, the banal exploitation of Indianness ("there it is again, the circle, that god-damned circle, as if we thought in circles, judged things on the merit of their circularity, as if all we ate was bologna and bannock and lived in teepees"); more-Indian-than-thou one-up-manship ("So, I'm having coffee with this treaty guy from up north...I say I'm Metis like it's an apology and he says, 'mmh, ' like he forgives me, like he's got a big heart and mine's pumping diluted blood")' and white condescension and ignorance ("The White Judges"). She celebrates the person clearly observing, who defines her own life. These are Indian poems; North American poems; human poems.

Poetry. Native American Studies. These are Indian poems; Canadian poems; human poems. Marilyn Dumont's Metis heritage offers her challenges that few of us welcome. Here she turns them into opportunities: in a voice that is fierce, direct, and true, she explores and transcends the multiple boundaries imposed by society on the self. She mocks, with exasperation and sly humour, the banal exploitation of Indianness; more-Indian-than-thou one-upmanship; and white condescension and ignorance. She celebrates the person, clearly observing, who defines her own life. "In a world where cultural fascism is becoming the politically correct norm, we desperately need courageous voices who shout Stop! Think! Marilyn Dumont is one such voice. She is a Metis poet with attitude and I applaud her courage and clarity"--Beth Cuthand.

Marilyn Dumont (born 1955) is a Canadian poet of Cree/M‚tis descent. Born in northeastern Alberta, she is a descendant of Gabriel Dumont. An educator and writer, Dumont holds an MFA from the University of British Columbia. Her work is widely anthologized.