Synopses & Reviews
Anne Cameron is well-known for her humourous retellings of North West Coast Indian legends -
Daughters of Copper Woman and
Dzelarhons. In the present collection of poetry, she enters a darker, more eerie and threatening corner of this world. "The Sickness That Has No Name" is an exploration of alienation and Indian mysticism, and of a woman's determination to live her own life.
This tone of independence in the face of male dominence continues through the entire book. The section "Mother of All" names and characterizes the goddesses and women who wielded power and received worship before the rise of patriarchal societies. The litany of names, lost power, and injustice becomes an exhortation to women to regain the strength and independence they have lost.
"Annie Poems," the last section of the book, celebrates a collection of friends, family, and lovers who have influenced the poet's life, culminating in a daughter's tribute of love to her mother. Cameron's humour, anger, and energy are in evidence here, as she describes everyday life and the actions people accept as 'normal.'
Synopsis
"The anger and passion with which Cameron writes lifts the ordinary into something stronger"
- Quill and Quire
About the Author
Anne Cameron was born in Nanaimo, BC. She began writing at an early age, starting with theatre scripts and screenplays. In 1979, her film Dreamspeaker, directed by Claude Jutra, won seven Canadian Film Awards, including best script. After being published as a novel, Dreamspeaker went on to win the Gibson Award for Literature. She has published more than 30 books, including the underground classic Daughters of Copper Woman, its sequel, Dzelarhons, novels, stories, poems and legends - for adults and children. Her most recent novels are Family Resemblances, Hardscratch Row, and a new, revised edition of Daughters of Copper Woman. She lives in Tahsis, BC
Table of Contents
THE SICKNESS THAT HAS NO NAME
Riding to Town With My Mother
Yuquatl
I Didn't Want to Go
Sickness
Cure
Old Woman
Old Woman Sat in Her Dugout
Old Woman Looked at Me
Punishment
Tem Eyos Ki
I Waken With the Smell of Gravedirt
HuHu
I Am the One They Warn Of
Petroglyph Eyes
I Watch the Ghosts of My Brothers
Mad Woman
Hecate
I Am Here Among You
Stained Glass and Vaulted Ceiling
MOTHER OF ALL
Whenever a Child is Born
Aya
Abaton
Abishag
Amazons
Arianrhod
Artemis
Ceridwen
Chang-O
Chicomecoatl
Chomo-Lung-Me
Coatlicue
Creiddylad
Demeter
Dzelarhons
Fisherwoman
Hag
Hel
Hera
Io
Kali
Kelle
Kleite
Lilith
Old Woman
Osa
Pomegranate
Witch
Found
What Are These Coloured Cones
ANNIE POEMS
Sometimes I Read Magazines
When We Meet
A Bear Story
Kyuquot Forest Protectorate
Weather Forecast
Eleanor's Place
February
Milly
Without Prejudice
Sea Fair, Powell River
In Class I Am Asked
Whenever a Woman Forgets Herself
When Next in Soft Dark or Bright Light
I Am She Who in Other Times
When I Was Very Small
Life Does Not Consist of a Series of Orgasims
For Eleanor: First Poem in More Than a Year
Osa
Margaret
Every Now and Again Something Happens
How Old Was I That Year?
Annie
If I Was Ten My Brother Was Seven and Annie Was Not Yet Thirty