12 minute read
CULTURE
Five Books from the First Peoples
By Nicolas Gendron, cultural journalist
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NECESSARY – Naomi Fontaine, Marie-Andrée Gill, and Michel Jean are now well-established in fiction or poetry. Since the month of June is devoted to Indigenous literature, the opportunity was too good not to drink it up, regardless of the label. Because this isn’t a genre, strictly speaking, and even less so a uniform production, but rather a field of possibilities that has been kept away for too long. Reading the First Peoples is a vibrant duty, and a powerful joy.
MONONK JULES by Jocelyn Sioui (Hannenorak, 2020)
With its DNA as an “archaeological site,” author and puppeteer Jocelyn Sioui walks in the footsteps of her great uncle Jules Sioui, a Wendat activist recognized in his time as “the thorn in the side of the federal government.” In late 2016, the artist discovers, while reading La femme qui fuit by Anaïs Barbeau-Lavalette, that the Automatistes supported Jules during his hunger strike in 1949 as he refuted the sedition charge that was brought against him. Didn’t her great uncle deserve more than these two Polaroid pages? Hence this astonishing archival enterprise, which tackles both the absurdities of the Indian Act and the roots of past and present Indigenous struggles. Thanks to muddled trial excerpts and fiery correspondence, and through their obvious connection as orators and storytellers, the two Siouis meet across the ages, without sparing the blind spots. A worthy and troubling personal and social essay.
OKINUM by Émilie Monnet (Les Herbes rouges, 2020)
“Dreams are like invisible gifts; they are the language that allows the ancestors to communicate with us and that sharpens our intuition.” Right from the outset, FrancoAlgonquin multidisciplinary artist Émilie Monnet opens up about her creative process, which is highly spiritual. The symbol of the beaver, whose dam gives its title to this play, and a warrior’s journey through the hospital setting weave a sensory web where anger gives breath. Anishinaabemowin is learned before our eyes and quickly rebounds in persistent echoes. What if vulnerability were a luxury? What if healing stories were lurking in the hollows of our nights? What if the beaver were a large-scale cleanup agent, even imposing itself when seen from space? A solo in profound dialogue with its audience—or its readers—and a Governor General’s Literary Awards finalist, showing that the institution doesn’t always turn a deaf ear.
THE CHANSONS DU VENT DU NORD TRILOGY by Tomson Highway (Prise de parole, 2020)
Cody and Joe are best buds, and with their dog Ootsie, they like to provoke the Caribou Song, spy on a Fox on the Ice, or dance with the Dragonfly Kites. The two brothers make nature a real playground in every respect, welcoming its share of wonders as well as its breathless reversals. In these three children’s books that the venerable Tomson Highway created to celebrate the habits and customs of the North of his native Manitoba, initially appearing in the early 2000s and reproduced here in French and Cree, we feel the beauty of the elements and the grandeur of everyday life marvellously. The style is lively and refined, while the sacred, enveloping, or soothing illustrations of John Rombough, Brian Deines, and Julie Flett, respectively, brilliantly bring to life this universe of childhood and the sharing of meaning. A delightful and essential trilogy.
NIN AUASS – MOI L’ENFANT – POÈMES DE LA JEUNESSE INNUE sown and reaped by Joséphine Bacon and Laure Morali (Mémoire d'encrier, 2021)
From the lower river to the sandbanks (Pajut-Shipu), passing through the village of Marie (Mani-utenam), writers Joséphine Bacon and Laure Morali, old friends, touched down in the ten Innu communities of the territory to entrust a few poetic tools to primary and secondary school students: their names are Tamara, Collavan, Manikanet, Jack, and Mitesh. From these meetings emerged poems of their vintage, and they flow naturally from the source with dazzling clarity. Mostly written in Innuaimun, they appear side by side in their original version and in French translation, extended by the soothing illustrations of Lydia Mestokosho-Paradis, tinged with red, a colour of protection and healing for the Innu. Their voices are inked from the essence: listening to the stones and sounding the wind, speaking to the ancestors as to the living, “walking in the words/and falling from the clouds,” and as the young Knutiss reminds us: “Light/is an abundant/richness.”
LA VALLÉE DES FLEURS by Niviaq Korneliussen (La Peuplade, 2022)
After being discovered thanks to Homo sapienne, a first queer novel that enjoyed unprecedented success in Greenland, then around the world—and which has been adapted for film by none other than Natasha Kanapé Fontaine—Inuit author Niviaq Korneliussen has pulled off another brilliant feat. Just like herself, her heroine lives in Nuuk, the capital of Greenland. She soon leaves to attend university in Denmark, leaving her sweetheart behind. Each chapter is pulsing with a life that is extinguished, encapsulated forever. We could use all the euphemisms in the world, but the waves of suicides that are striking Greenland are not killed off by Korneliussen. The author instead gives substance to inner voices and indelible mourning, with an unstoppable lucidity and a grain of full-bodied humour in the works. Eluding the seriousness of the subject matter to better illuminate our flaws, borne by the excellent translation of Inès Jorgensen, this is a work of light and dark, reminding us that “we speak the same language when we don’t speak.”
The Creative Act and Benevolence
By Eve Laliberté, cultural collaborator
CREATING THE INVISIBLE — Who hasn’t, when they were little, lost track of time at least once while immersed in their colouring books? Or been so focused on an arts and crafts project that everything else seemed to disappear, as if the tangible worlds at their fingertips became the only real places?
My mother often told me a story about my childhood, a memory highlighting the differences between my big brother’s creative approach and mine (both of us still navigate the artistic spheres today). When she asked us what we were drawing, my brother usually knew exactly what he wanted to reproduce. Most of the time, he was very disappointed to see that what appeared on the sheet didn’t reflect what he had in mind. The intention was there, but the result rarely lived up to the mental image.
For my part, I often didn’t know what I was doing at all. I decided what I had drawn by looking at the result, after the fact. Let no one dare to ask me what I was depicting before I had put down my pencil! To a few abstract scribbles, I would add some lines, a dot, and voilà! A snail! It was as if the reference were grafted on in hindsight, to sanctify an idea that was only present in the subconscious state.
I let myself be guided by the creative act, completely surrendering to what my hands and body wanted to do. Without thinking or hoping, I yielded control to my intuition. Even though I heard it dozens of times, I never got tired of that simple anecdote. And that may be because it represents an important reminder of that
approach, which we should value more in our daily lives: a letting-go, a complete acceptance of what happens, without judgment.
I’m certain that these memories are universal, that these moments of total abandon can be found in the picture box of our childhoods. Do you remember your improvised choreographies, piano lessons, or colouring sessions with wax crayons? In these free creative acts, devoid of any objective, is there not an enormous source of benevolence and room to grow? Do they not represent self-care materialized through moments without expectations? By extracting ourselves from the imperatives of logic and productivity at all costs for a few minutes, we can cultivate this space of infinite possibilities that most of us unfortunately left behind in childhood.
ART AND ITS BENEFITS
It was recently revealed in La Presse that Statistics Canada was launching a study aimed at “better understanding the impact of certain activities, such as arts and cultural activities, on the mental state of the participants.” While we have seen a proliferation of articles and initiatives on this subject in recent years, this study will be one of the first of its kind to emerge in Canada. However, the view that art is good for health is already firmly established in certain sectors of innovation. Since 2018, members of Médecins francophones du Canada can even prescribe a visit to the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts1. This initiative, which is the first of its kind in the world, aims to offer a wellness moment that may contribute to the recovery of patients suffering from various physical or psychological health problems.
This really goes to show the extent to which this discourse valuing the benefits of the creative universe is gradually transcending the spheres to be deployed outside the artistic community. Even in business, the development of alternative projects is increasingly being encouraged outside of working hours, or even during them. For example, Google has reportedly established an initiative encouraging employees to use 20% of their paid time to work on creative projects not related to daily work tasks. If the leaders of major innovation companies have understood the effects of this time dedicated to activities related to the imagination, isn’t that proof that there is a rich potential for human development here? While they have been able to combine the search for profits and creativity, we can certainly reclaim this idea to improve our quality of life.
MEDITATIVE ACTIVITIES
But what, deep down, is so transformative about encountering art and cultivating creativity? About enrolling in a dance or pottery class, maintaining a painting or writing practice, or preferring colouring to watching television?
Researchers have compared the quality of mind encouraged by the inventive act to meditation, a technique that has proven positive effects on the brain. According to multiple studies, the meditative practice may improve physical and psychological health by enabling the transformation and reorganization of the neurons in the brain through a phenomenon known as neuroplasticity. These activities require time and concentration. They require special attention, patience, and a certain amount of self-indulgence, especially if you engage in activities that take you out of your comfort zone. They demand vigilance, a benevolent attitude that allows a new energy to be born and a space of freedom to unfold around the usual concerns. By meticulously directing your focus to these activities devoid of a specific objective, you fall into this liberated state of consciousness that allows you to take a step back from the stress and vagaries of daily life. Like meditation, creativity is something that is practised, but which is accessible to everyone. Although we sometimes forget it, we all have the ability to make beauty emerge.
LEARNING FROM THE IMAGINATION
By practising activities without putting pressure on ourselves and approaching things with inventiveness and an open mind, we cultivate a quality of mind and dispositions that can extend to other areas of our lives. What is born from the creative act ends up having an impact on the rest of our efforts and shining through in our interpersonal relationships or our professional development. So, don’t think too much, and go for it. If the idea of doing an activity that takes you too far out of your comfort zone causes you anxiety, start with something you did when you were a child. It can be as simple as scribbling on paper with a pen!
In truth, the simple act of doing an activity that is at first glance devoid of any logic other than that of doing good for yourself is an act of kindness. And this kindness offers you a space to keep growing, to face uncertainty, to make mistakes, to fall and get back up again—like we did when we were young. Some lessons can still be learned from the wisdom we had when we were five years old.
To continue the discussion on creativity with Eve Laliberté (in French only), follow our podcast Centré sur l’équilibre.
Source
1 “Prescriptions muséales MBAM-MFdC: des visites au musée prescrites par des médecins à leurs patients.” (October 11, 2018). Montreal Museum of Fine Arts. Consulted March 31, 2022, at: https://www.mbam.qc.ca/fr/actualites/prescriptions-museales/
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First episodes released: May 2022
Taking up the subjects covered in Strøm Magazine, the Centré sur l’équilibre podcast hosted by Cassandre ClermontMoquin delves further into the conversations with the authors of the texts and the collaborators interviewed. The Strøm team has surrounded itself with people who have rich and valuable expertise and experience for the development of its magazine for more than seven years now, and it wanted to bring the content that emerges from the magazine to life on more than one platform. It is therefore with much pride and excitement that we invite you to dive into these audio clips and let yourself be whisked away to each of the universes that they have been able to create. Happy listening!
To listen to the episodes (in French only), scan the QR code below, visit our website at stromspa.com, or head to your favourite listening platform.
In the magazine, look for the note at the bottom of the articles with which the episodes are associated!
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