I’m Finding My Talk

Publisher's Description (Nimbus Publishing Limited):
Former Halifax Poet Laureate and second-generation residential school survivor Rebecca Thomas writes honestly and powerfully in this companion piece to Rita Joe’s I Lost My Talk. Includes vibrant illustrations from Mi’kmaw artist Pauline Young.

A response to Rita Joe’s iconic poem I Lost My Talk, and published simultaneously with the new children’s book edition illustrated by Pauline Young, comes a companion picture book by award—winning spoken—word artist and Mi’kmaw activist Rebecca Thomas. A second—generation residential school survivor, Thomas writes this response poem openly and honestly, reflecting on the process of working through the destructive effects of colonialism.

From sewing regalia to dancing at powwow to learning traditional language, I’m Finding My Talk is about rediscovering her community, and finding culture. Features stunning, vibrant illustrations by Mi’kmaw artist Pauline Young.

Author's Biography (Nimbus Publishing Limited):
Rebecca Thomas is an award-winning Mi'kmaw poet. She is Halifax's former Poet Laureate (2016-2018) and has been published in multiple journals and magazines. She coordinated the Halifax Slam Poetry team from 2014 to 2017, leading them to three national competitions with the Canadian Festival of Spoken Word. Her first children's book, I'm Finding My Talk, was a Globe & Mail Top 100 Pick of 2019, as well as a CBC Best Picture Book of 2019, and was nominated for both the 2019 Ann Connor Brimer Award for Children's Literature and the 2019 Atlantic Publishers Marketing Association Best Atlantic-Published Book Award (with companion title I Lost My Talk). The book is a White Ravens 2020 selection, chosen by the International Youth Library in Munich, Germany, and has been nominated for First Nations Communities READ 2020. Thomas's first adult collection of poetry, I place you into the fire, was a CBC Best Canadian Poetry pick of 2020

Resource type: Picturebook

Age recommendation: Grades K-3, 4-6

Keywords: lost my talk, Residential School, survivor, Mi’kmaw, colonialism, language, residential schooling, Truth and Reconciliation, stories, personal accounts, experiences, respect, reclaiming, culture, tradition, poetry

Year of publication: 2021

Publisher information: Nimbus Publishing Limited