Books by E. Pauline Johnson

Flint and Feather (1913) is a collection of the complete poems of E. Pauline Johnson. Revered as one the foremost Canadian poets of her time, Johnson was a prolific writer whose works explored her Mohawk heritage while shedding light on the racism and persecution faced by indigenous peoples across North America."The lyrical verse herein is as a 'Skyward floating feather, / Sailing on summer air.' And yet that feather may be the eagle plume that crests the head of a warrior chief; so both flint and feather bear the hall-mark of my Mohawk blood." So states Johnson in the foreword to her complete poems, Flint and Feather, a collection that captures not only her range as a poet in tune with the Romantic tradition, but her dualistic sense of identity as a woman of Mohawk and English heritage. Choosing to emphasize the former, Johnson, who also went by Tekahionwake, her great-grandfather's name, adopts the persona of an Indian wife who, watching her love depart, wonders what he will "suffer from the white man's hand." In fear, in anger, in desperation, she proclaims "By right, by birth we Indians own these lands, / Though starved, crushed, plundered, lies our nation low..." In the face of defeat, she offers a poetry in tune with the "ghost upon the shore," the voices one hears "when the Northern candles light the Northern sky." Johnson's voice is thus both one of resistance and mourning, her song one of a land of plains and rivers, of fields that await the harvest despite the "prying pilot crow" whose "thieving raids" descend "[a]t husking time."With a beautifully designed cover and professionally typeset manuscript, this edition of E. Pauline Johnson's Flint and Feather is a classic of Canadian literature reimagined for modern readers.

Canadian Born (1895) is a collection of poems by E. Pauline Johnson. Revered as one the foremost indigenous Canadian poets of her time, Johnson was a prolific writer whose works explored her Mohawk heritage while shedding light on the racism and persecution faced by indigenous peoples across North America. Canadian Born captures Johnson¿s range as a poet in tune with the Romantic tradition without erasing her dualistic sense of identity as a woman of Mohawk and English heritage. Introducing her collection with a brief inscription, the poet lays out the political purpose of her work addressed to all ¿Canadian born¿ individuals, ¿whether he be [her] paleface compatriot who has given to [her] his right hand of good fellowship,¿ or ¿that dear Red brother of whatsoever tribe or Province.¿ No matter the identity of her reader, Johnson hopes to show them that ¿White Race and Red are one if they are but Canadian born.¿ Whether or not she succeeds in her mission is up to the reader to decide, and yet the beauty and power of her poetry cannot be denied. Personal and political, patriotic and critical of colonial misdeeds, Johnson captures as much as she can of the Canadian experience, paying equal regard to a mariner longing to return to ¿the sea, the hungry seä and an Indian corn husker with ¿Age in her fingers, hunger in her face, / Her shoulders stooped with weight of work and years.¿ With a beautifully designed cover and professionally typeset manuscript, this edition of E. Pauline Johnson¿s Canadian Born is a classic of Canadian literature reimagined for modern readers.

The White Wampum (1895) is the debut poetry collection of E. Pauline Johnson. Originally published in London, The White Wampum launched her career as one of Canadäs most distinguished artists. Revered as one the foremost indigenous poets of her time, Johnson was a prolific writer whose works explored her Mohawk heritage while shedding light on the racism and persecution faced by indigenous peoples across North America. The White Wampum captures Johnson¿s range as a poet in tune with the Romantic tradition without erasing her dualistic sense of identity as a woman of Mohawk and English heritage. Choosing to emphasize the former, Johnson, who also went by Tekahionwake, her great-grandfather¿s name, adopts the persona of a Mohawk wife devoted to her husband, a powerful warrior: ¿I am Ojistoh, I am she, the wife / Of him whose name breathes bravery and life / And courage to the tribe that calls him chief. / I am Ojistoh, his white star, and he / Is land, and lake, and sky¿and soul to me.¿ When members of the rival Huron tribe capture Ojistoh, their plan for retribution fails to account for her own strength and willpower. Outnumbered and unarmed, she remains certain she will return to her husband alive. In ¿The Camper,¿ Johnson invokes the beauty and simplicity of life on the plains, erasing for a moment all distinction between man and god, heaven and earth: ¿Night neath the northern skies, lone, black, and grim: / Nought but the starlight lies twixt heaven, and him. / Of man no need has he, of God, no prayer; / He and his Deity are brothers there.¿ With a beautifully designed cover and professionally typeset manuscript, this edition of E. Pauline Johnson¿s The White Wampum is a classic of Canadian literature reimagined for modern readers.

The first complete collection of all of E. Pauline Johnson's known poems, many painstakingly culled from newspapers, magazines, and archives, along with a selection of her prose, including fiction, journalism, and discussions of gender and race.