“there’s no Children here” by Wanda John-Kehewin
Poetry Pause is the League of Canadian Poets’ daily poetry dispatch. Read “there’s no Children here” from Wanda John-Kehewin’s collection Spells, Wishes, and the Talking Dead: ᒪᒪᐦᑖᐃᐧᓯᐃᐧᐣ ᐸᑯᓭᔨᒧᐤ ᓂᑭᐦᒋ ᐋᓂᐢᑯᑖᐹᐣ mamahtâwisiwin, pakosêyimow, nikihci-âniskotâpân, shortlisted for the League’s Raymond Souster Award.
Due to its formatting, this poem is only available as an image.
Wanda John-Kehewin is a Cree writer who came to Vancouver, BC, on the Greyhound when she was nineteen, pregnant — carrying a bag of chips, a bottle of pop, thirty dollars, and hope. Wanda has been writing about the near decimation of Indigenous culture, language, and tradition as a means to process history and trauma that allows her to stand in her truth and to share that truth openly. Wanda is a multi-genre writer who has published in many different genres in hopes of reaching others. With many years of traveling the healing path (well, mostly stumbling), she brings personal experience of healing to share with others. Wanda is the mother of five amazing children, who continue to inspire her to write for future generations. Wanda completed her MFA at UBC in 2022.
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