INDIGI QUEER NESS by Joshua Whitehead

Evolving from a conversation between Joshua Whitehead and Angie Abdou, Indigiqueerness is part dialogue, part collage, and part memoir. Beginning with memories of his childhood poetry and prose and travelling through the library of his life, Whitehead contemplates the role of theory, Indigenous language, queerness, and fantastical worlds in all his artistic pursuits. This volume is imbued with Whitehead’s energy and celebrates Indigenous writers and creators who defy expectations and transcend genres.

About the Author

Joshua Whitehead is an Oji-Cree/nehiyaw, Two-Spirit/Indigiqueer member of Peguis First Nation (Treaty 1). He is the author of the bestselling novel Jonny Appleseed (Arsenal Pulp Press, 2018), longlisted for the Scotiabank Giller Prize, shortlisted for the Governor General’s Literary Award, and winner of Canada Reads; and the poetry collection full-metal indigiqueer (Talonbooks, 2017), which was the winner of the Governor General’s History Award for the Indigenous Arts and Stories Challenge in 2016. He is also the editor of Love after the End: An Anthology of Two-Spirit and Indigiqueer Speculative Fiction (Arsenal Pulp Press, 2020). His most recent book is a work of creative non-fiction entitled Making Love with the Land (Knopf, 2022) that details mental health, queerness, and Indigeneity.

Reviews

This is a short book (under 100 pages), and yet somehow, Whitehead packs in about 20 different genres. At times it feels like a mini-biography of his own books and publishing history. At other times, it’s more like an expansive lecture on creative writing. But, it’s also a book about Indigenous language, translation, and storytelling. Blending interview, memoir, photography, collage, and the words of other