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4.19 AVERAGE
4.19 AVERAGE
informative
medium-paced
Amazing collection of essays. I especially enjoyed Whitehead's exploration of writing outside traditional Eurowestern genre categories and the catch-22 of the publishing industry and academia.
challenging
slow-paced
adventurous
challenging
emotional
reflective
sad
slow-paced
I enjoyed this collection precisely because so many of the essays that make it up are about the experience of being oneself without editing out the complexities of self-doubt, self discovery, and the visceral parts of human experience that are best expressed through the language of the body and it's connection to the very land we are a part of inherently no matter how much so many parts of western culture push us to stand above everything. A storyteller is the story and outside of that story, sometimes he is also within and without it simultaneously struggling to encompass so much and fighting for the words. Here that means discussing grief, loss, processing weight and eating disorders, sexual assault, personal sexual and emotional identity within and outside of culture, being a queer Two Spirit in a community which is traditionally accepting while the greater world passes judgement and limits freedom, and trying to identify what it is to be oneself with an awareness of your connection to the world and that of a being who also feels hopelessly lost in spite of that knowledge.
Whitehead's collection is very personal and he is all too aware of the weight in discussing personal experience as an indigenous Two Spirit. There is an agony in wanting to realize full expression without feeling as if one has given the reader the sense that you are a part of a lost or dying culture whose grief can be catalogued and fussed over and then set aside while that culture remains all too alive in you and in the world you live and breathe. How much is speaking truth and how much is opening your vulnerability up to be someone else's casually consumed grief porn? What is enough and is that personally or by someone else's measure? There's a lot to consider here, and it merits taking your time to do so.
Whitehead's collection is very personal and he is all too aware of the weight in discussing personal experience as an indigenous Two Spirit. There is an agony in wanting to realize full expression without feeling as if one has given the reader the sense that you are a part of a lost or dying culture whose grief can be catalogued and fussed over and then set aside while that culture remains all too alive in you and in the world you live and breathe. How much is speaking truth and how much is opening your vulnerability up to be someone else's casually consumed grief porn? What is enough and is that personally or by someone else's measure? There's a lot to consider here, and it merits taking your time to do so.
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
Joshua Whitehead is one of my new favorite authors. They have an incredible mastery of language and a lot to say.
emotional
informative
reflective
fast-paced
This is a great book to read after Jonny Appleseed.
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-paced
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
tense
medium-paced
Making Love with the Land by Joshua Whitehead
Is beautiful essay writing.
Surprisingly this is my first time reading anything by Whitehead. I have heard him speak, and read articles about their works and listened to Canada Reads in 2021 when Johnny Appleseed won. But for some reason this book called to me when I heard Whitehead speak about it on … probably CBC, let’s be honest.
I adore essay writing and Whitehead is clearly a master at bringing various forms of truth together. Not simply autobiographical, or historic or fact/statistic based, it is uncategorical which makes it all the more fascinating.
I read it in one sitting, enthralled by every word. I loved the use of hinterland. And the soul that emerged as one went further into the essays.
This book is for anyone who enjoys essay writing, lyrical prose, queer, and indigenous realities. Trigger warning there is sexual assault and the on going legacy and trauma of colonism and racism. It is rich in healing and growth.
Is beautiful essay writing.
Surprisingly this is my first time reading anything by Whitehead. I have heard him speak, and read articles about their works and listened to Canada Reads in 2021 when Johnny Appleseed won. But for some reason this book called to me when I heard Whitehead speak about it on … probably CBC, let’s be honest.
I adore essay writing and Whitehead is clearly a master at bringing various forms of truth together. Not simply autobiographical, or historic or fact/statistic based, it is uncategorical which makes it all the more fascinating.
I read it in one sitting, enthralled by every word. I loved the use of hinterland. And the soul that emerged as one went further into the essays.
This book is for anyone who enjoys essay writing, lyrical prose, queer, and indigenous realities. Trigger warning there is sexual assault and the on going legacy and trauma of colonism and racism. It is rich in healing and growth.