"Writing life and baking bread : Beth Brant's multiple identities in writing as witness"
| Authors | |
|---|---|
| Year of publication | 2009 |
| Type | Article in Periodical |
| Magazine / Source | Central European Journal of Canadian Studies |
| MU Faculty or unit | |
| Citation | |
| Field | Mass media, audiovision |
| Keywords | first nations; Beth Brant; multiple identities; life-writing |
| Description | This paper examines the writing of the First Nations author Beth Brant, particularly her collection of critical and personal essays Writing As Witness (1994). Brant inscribes in her texts her multiple identities as an Indigenous writer, Mohawk woman, and a lesbian feminist, representing sometimes conflicting, sometimes affirming intersections of ethnicity/race, gender, sexuality and religion. In addition, Brant's narrative strategies in the multi-generic pieces interweave her personal observations on her own life, on First Nations literature and history, on important concepts in First Nations spiritual existence, and on the contested positions that Native women occupy in contemporary Canadian society. Finally, the paper points to Brant's contribution to feminist discourse on women's sexuality and lesbian identity through her elaboration on the concept of Two-Spiritedness. I suggest that this particular collection promotes a specific writing style in the genre of personal non-fiction and life writing, which has recently gained popularity among Indigenous women writers. |