Poetic tales that unfold through the voice of ê-kwêskît, Turn-Around Woman--tales imbued with vital themes of Indigenous experience: culture, language, colonialism, residential schools and more. The poems of The Crooked Good are threaded throughout with names, phrases, and verses in Cree; its personal stories framed within the fireside tales of Rolling Head Woman, who is both nightmare and culture hero. Evocative, moving, and powerful poetry from a master poet.

Louise Bernice Halfe was born in Two Hills, Alberta. Her Cree name is Sky Dancer. She was raised on the Saddle Lake Indian Reserve and attended Blue Quills Residential School. Halfe's first published poetry appeared in Writing the Circle: Women of Western Canada. She has since published four collections. Bear Bones & Feathers was published in 1994. It received the Canadian People's Poet Award and was a finalist for the Spirit of Saskatchewan Award. Blue Marrow was published in 1998 and was a finalist for the Governor General's Award for Poetry, Pat Lowther Award, and Saskatchewan Book of the Year Award. The Crooked Good was published in 2007. Her most recent collection, Burning in This Midnight Dream, was published in 2016 and details Halfe's personal response to the Truth and Reconciliation process and how the experiences of residential school children continue to haunt those who survive, and how the effects are passed down for generations. The book won three Saskatchewan Book Awards and the League of Canadian Poets Raymond Souster Award. Halfe has served as poet laureate of Saskatchewan and is widely recognized for weaving Cree language and teachings into her works. A collection of Halfe's work, Sohkeyihta, containing poems written across the expanse of her career, was published by Wilfrid Laurier Press in 2018. Halfe has a Bachelor of Social Work, and received a Honorary Degree of Letters from Wilfrid Laurier University. She currently works with Elders in an organization called Opikinawasowin ("raising our children"). Halfe lives outside of Saskatoon with her husband.

Louise Halfe's profile page

The Crooked Good

Louise Halfe’s Cree name is Sky Dancer. In this book she has created a poetic narrative that combines legend and history with current reality. This blend makes a powerful mix. Halfe does not shy away from speaking bluntly about such topics as abuse. She also uses many Cree words as she weaves her complex tale, and includes a three-page glossary of these at the back of the book. Individual pieces could serve as powerful read-alouds or be performed as interpretive pieces for one or more voices.

Halfe served as Saskatchewan’s Poet Laureate in 2006 and 2007. She has won many awards including the Canadian People’s Poet Award. She has been a finalist for the Governor General’s Literary Award and the Pat Lowther Award.

Caution: Reference is made to drinking and sexual abuse, as well as self-abusive and suicidal situations. Some negative references to religion and the clergy appear in the context of residential school experience.