IBARW: 2 poems by Marilyn Dumont

July 27th to August 2nd this year is International Blog Against Racism Week (IBARW). I've been wanting to contribute all week, but haven't felt that I had anything substantial enough to write; then I decided that in a way, posting something at all is solidarity, and so I've chosen to present two poems by a fabulous poet who I think suits the ideas beyond starting this blog very well, as well as the ideology of IBARW. Marilyn Dumont is a female Métis author, who tackles gender, race, colonialism, and intersectionality in her work, as well as also writing some kick-ass poems about love and loss and life in general. One thing I especially like about Dumont's poetry is how aggressive it is about referencing her own experiences without worrying about explaining context: non-Canadians may not get all of the things she refers to, and I know as a non-Métis or Aboriginal there is more yet that I don't get, but I find this refreshing and powerful, rather than alienating. She speaks in her own voice and does so proudly, and there is so much to admire in that approach.

Both the poems below come from Dumont's book of poetry A Really Good Brown Girl. I was not able to format the second poem exactly as she did, for which I apologize to her.

(1) Letter To Sir John A. Macdonald
Marilyn Dumont

Dear John: I'm still here and halfbreed,
after all these years
you're dead, funny thing,
that railway you wanted so badly,
there was talk a year ago
of shutting it down
and part of it was shut down,
the dayliner at least,
'from sea to shining sea,'
and you know, John,
after all that shuffling us around to suit the settlers,
we're still here and Metis.

We're still here
after Meech Lake and
one no-good-for-nothing-Indian
holdin-up-the-train,
stalling the 'Cabin syllables / Nouns of settlement,
/...steel syntax [and] / The long sentence of its exploitation'
and John, that goddamned railroad never made this a great nation,
cause the railway shut down
and this country is still quarreling over unity,
and Riel is dead
but he just keeps coming back
in all the Bill Wilsons yet to speak out of turn or favour
because you know as well as I
that we were railroaded
by some steel tracks that didn't last
and some settlers who wouldn't settle
and it's funny we're still here and callin ourselves halfbreed.

//

(2) Helen Betty Osborne
Marilyn Dumont

Betty, if I set out to write this poem about you
it might turn out instead
to be about me
or any one of
my female relatives
it might turn out to be
about this young native girl
growing up in rural Alberta
in a town with fewer Indians
than ideas about Indians
in a town just south of the 'Aryan Nations'

It might turn out to be
about Anna Mae Aquash, Donald Marshall, or Richard Cardinal,
it might even turn out to be
about our grandmothers
beasts of burden in the fur trade
skinning, scraping, pounding, packing
left behind for 'British Standards of Womanhood,'
left for white-melting-skinned women,
not bits-of-brown women
left here in this wilderness, this colony.

Betty, if I start to write a poem about you
it might turn out to be
about hunting season instead
about 'open season' on native women
it might turn out to be
about your face young and hopeful
staring back at me hollow now
from a black and white page
it might be about the 'townsfolk' (gentle word)
townsfolk who 'believed native girls were easy'
and 'less likely to complain if a sexual proposition led to violence'

Betty, if I write this poem.

Finding Ada: Elsie MacGill

Today is Ada Lovelace Day, dedicated to blogging about women in technology, illuminating them and providing role models. I don't consider myself a woman in technology in any way, but have devoted a lot of time to meta-level technology issues, and women's history generally. The invocation of Lady Ada completes the circle for me, as if I had to pick from any woman in technology to write a blog post on, I would have picked Ada first, being one of my heroes (and the namesake of my beloved, much-missed cat).

Ada herself is well-known these days, so it seemed only right to post about someone else; and given that this is me, I thought a Canadian woman would be an excellent choice. My first thought was Roberta Bondar, Canada's first female astronaut and an accomplished neurology researcher, but my mind turned instead to that other interest of mine, women and aeroplanes. And if we push 'technology' a little to include engineering, I have just the woman for the job.

Elizabeth Muriel Gregory MacGill (known as "Elsie") had a string of 'firsts' attached to her name. Most notably, she was the first woman to receive an electrical engineering degree in Canada, the first woman to receive a Master's degree in aeronautic engineering in North America, and the first female aircraft designer in the whole world. Her mother, Helen Gregory MacGill, was the first female judge in British Columbia. But Elsie was so much more than just firsts; she was a woman of dedication, perseverance, and immense talent.

After her EE degree, she went on to achieve a Master's in aeronautical engineering. Around the time she graduated, she developed polio and was told she'd never walk again. Well, Elsie never took no for an answer, and she taught herself to walk again with the help of two metal canes. She wrote articles on aviation to support herself during her recovery, and then went to work, designing aeroplanes. She did dream of being a pilot, but due to her illness, this was not possible; still, she worked around her limitations, and insisted on being a passenger on every test flight of her designs, to assess performance!

During WWII, Elsie really came into her own, earning the nickname "Queen of the Hurricanes" for her work on the Hawker Hurricane, one of the key aeroplanes for the RAF during the war. She was in charge of all engineering work on the Hurricanes, including design modifications to allow the plane to fly in winter conditions, and made an invaluable contribution to the war effort.

Elsie kept on working for the rest of her life; she eventually married (though she kept her maiden name), started a private consulting firm, was an advisor to the U.N. (and the first woman to ever chair a U.N. committee), and published a book about her mother's life. And following on from her mother's example, she became a devoted advocate of women's rights, even being named to the Royal Commission on the Status of Women in Canada.

Elsie died a member of the Order of Canada, a passionate defender of women's rights, and an example of someone who overcame both her gender in the time period, and a physical disability, to reach the heights of her profession. I don't know if this fits the definition of 'mentor', but I definitely consider her a hero, and an example of someone who did what she wanted to do in her life, damn the consequences: something young women today who are fighting to get into technology fields can use as an inspiration.

Be sure to go check out the archives for some great posts; there are a few wonderful ones on Delia Derbyshire, for example, and Bone's post on Laurie Anderson is terrific. I wish I'd known about this advance to go back through old school notes and pull out some more names to write up, or get into current women in tech, but for now, hopefully Elsie's biography will inspire you.

Testing

Finding Ada (see relevant post) reminded me it might be nice to write publicly about women's issues and aeroplanes again. In part, I hope to do a bit of posting and promoting of some of my favourite books, the Worrals series by W.E. Johns. At the very least, this provides a place for me to make my Finding Ada day post, so, enjoy!