Jamesie Fournier

1984
Photo credit
Myself

Biography

Born and raised in Denendeh, mixed Inuk writer and poet Jamesie Taligvat Evaluardjuk Fournier’s debut horror book, The Other Ones (2022), won silver at the 2022 Independent Publisher Book Awards and is currently being made into a stop-motion film. His poetry collection, Elements (2023), was shortlisted for the 2024 Indigenous Voices Award and won the 2024 NorthWords Book Award. His premiere children’s book, Lemming’s First Christmas (2024) was recently animated to English and Inuktitut. He divides his time between Nunavut, Ontario, and the NWT.

Micro-interview

Did you read poetry when you were in high school? Is there a particular poem that you loved when you were a teenager?

We did read poetry in high school - I remember hearing William Blake for the first time and liked the sound of it.
'The Raven' by Edgar Allan Poe is a strong one, but also Poe's 'El Dorado' gets stuck in my mind.

When did you first start writing poetry? And then when did you start thinking of yourself as a poet?

I first started writing poetry maybe 14-15? When I realized I didn't have to wait for the poetry unit in ELA was a personal breakthrough despite its obviousness and I have been writing since.

I think sometime in that first year I considered myself a poet, my friends were supportive, I didn't know anyone else at the time who was writing.

 

What do you think a poet’s “job” is?

To look at the world and inside ourselves and try to have a reckoning of the two.

Publications

Title
Elements
Publisher
Inhabit Media
Editors
Kelly Ward-Willis
Date
2024
Publication type
Book
Title
The Other Ones
Publisher
Inhabit Media
Editors
Kelly Ward-Willis
Date
2022
Publication type
Book
Title
Inua
Publisher
Grant McEwan University
Date
2024
Publication type
Anthology
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