BooksCanadian

Northern Light

A book by Kazim Ali.

Kazim Ali

CBC Books Posted: Feb 01, 2021 5:32 PM EST | Last Updated: August 16, 2021

Kazim Ali's earliest memories are of Jenpeg, a temporary town in the forests of northern Manitoba where his immigrant father worked on the construction of a hydroelectric dam. As a child, Ali had no idea that the dam was located on the unceded lands of the Indigenous Pimicikamak, the "people of rivers and lakes."

Northern Lightrecounts Ali's memories of his childhood and his return to Pimicikamak as an adult. During his visit, he searches for the sites of his childhood memories and learns more about the realities of life in Pimicikamak: the environmental and social impact of the Jenpeg dam, the effects of colonialism and cultural erasure, and the community's initiatives to preserve and strengthen their identity. Deeply rooted in place,Northern Lightis both a stunning exploration of home, belonging, and identity and an immersive account of contemporary life in one Indigenous community. (From Goose Lane Editions)

Kazim Aliis an academic, poet and writer who currently teaches atthe University of California, San Diego. His poetry collections includeSky WardandThe Far Mosque.Northern Lightis his first wok of nonfiction.

From the book

On our drive, I am captivated anew by the quality of the northern light. It always looks like it's been raining: the yellow-white golden color of the dry grasses; the muted green of fir trees and the wet black of their trunks, with pale, dirty-white paper birches interspersed; blue smoke of the clouds, and then luminous and dark gray, the soft heavy sky billows pulsing with incipient light above. The lake--broken branches rising here and there above the water--seems resentful, treacherous, resigned.

At Jackson's direction, Donald pulls over and we clamber out of the car. "Okay, now close your eyes," Jackson instructs, then guides me across the road to its shoulder, facing the lake. "Now open your eyes."

Jackson is holding up a photograph in front of my face. I can see the actual lake to the left and right, and he is holding the picture so I can see the continuous shoreline and a small sandy beach with a promontory of three large boulders. "This picture is from ten years ago," he says.

"Now look." And his arm drops away so I can see the shore now.

"The whole beach is gone!" I exclaim. "Those protruding rocks too."

"They're all underwater," Jackson says, pointing in the direction where the rocks lie submerged.

FromNorthern Lightby Kazim Ali2021. Published by Goose Lane Editions.

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