Annie Poems

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.'

"The anger and passion with which Cameron writes lifts the ordinary into something stronger"

- Quill and Quire

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

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