Avis Blackbird's debut book Lightning in Our Roots draws on nature and Indigenous identity
The four-chapter collection moves from reflective colder months to a summer of connection and abundance, shaped by time spent outdoors and reclaiming her Indigeneity.
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Avis Blackbird has published her first book of poetry, Lightning in Our Roots, a collection organized by season that moves from the reflective colder months into a summer of connection, togetherness and abundance.
Blackbird wrote poetry as a teenager, then stopped as life got in the way. She came back to it during COVID-19, when she needed a way to express negative emotions. "It was around COVID or coming out of COVID, and I just had no way to express my emotions," she said. "I returned back to poetry and it was just amazing, the freedom I felt and finally being able to have a place to express my negative emotions."
Around the same time, her extended family was pursuing status and reconnecting with their Indigenous heritage, working with their band to find more traditions to take part in. Blackbird says she had always identified as Indigenous, and that reclaiming her identity led her to a more creative place. She painted and drew as well as wrote, and she describes that creative work as tied to her Indigeneity.
The seasonal structure came from what she was learning through her nation. "The seasonal round stood out to me, because I'm also learning about those through my nation," she said. She wanted the book to finish on vitality. "The word resilience is used so often around Indigenous peoples and I love that. But there is another piece that I love, which is vitality."
During the pandemic she spent time outdoors, harvesting cedar with Knowledge Keepers and taking walks she describes as her sanity. She says she still finds connection with nature in the city, noticing at least one bird on her daily walk with her dog. "I like the idea that no matter where we are, we could still connect with nature. It's all around us."
The manuscript took about two and a half years to finish. Blackbird thanks her editors for their patience through the revisions. She hopes readers will take from it that everyone can write and have a creative outlet.
