South Side of a Kinless River

CBC Best Poetry Book 2024

A nuanced, relational, and community-minded new book from one of Canada's preeminent poets.

South Side of a Kinless River wrestles with concepts of Metis identity in a nation and territory that would rather erase it. Metis identity, land loss, sexual relationships between Indigenous women and European men, and midwifery by Indigenous women of the nascent settler communities figure into these poems. They add up to a Metis woman's prairie history, one that helps us feel the violence in how those contributions and wisdoms have been suppressed and denied.

"Each poem is an anthem, every page showcasing the talent and necessity of this incredible poetic voice. Dumont brings the Metis tone, cadence and intricate stitch-work into all she creates." - Cherie Dimaline, author of The Marrow Thieves and Empire of the Wild

"The voice of this Metis woman is as loving, tender and humane, as it is powerful, satirical and political..." - Rita Bouvier, author of a beautiful rebellion