Smokii Sumac

Smokii Sumac is a Ktunaxa poet whose first book of poetry, you are enough: love poems for the end of the world was published in 2018 by Kegedonce Press.[1] In addition to writing, Sumac dedicates much of his work to Indigenous and LGBTQ communities.[2] He identifies as a two-spirit, trans masculine, "as an uncle and an auntie".[3] He currently lives in both Peterborough, Ontario and Ithaca, New York with his family and their dog.[1]

Sumac grew up in Invermere, British Columbia. He attended the David Thompson Secondary School. He has talked openly about his recovery from alcoholism and addiction.[3] He credits the Canadian Festival of Spoken Word in 2017 with inspiring him to begin writing poetry.[4]

His work has been published in Write Magazine, Electric City Magazine and Canadian Literature. you are enough has been favorably reviewed in publications including Muskrat Magazine[5] and Transmotion.[6] In 2017 the Indigenous Voices Award was presented to Sumac for his unpublished poetry including his #haikuaday, which he posted on social media.[7] He has performed at various events and venues including the Queer Arts Festival in 2018 and PoetryNOW: 11th Annual Battle of the Bards in 2019. Currently, Smokii Sumac is a PhD Candidate in Indigenous Studies at Trent University, where he is researching "coming home" stories from a Ktunaxa adoptee and two-spirit perspective.[8]

In 2020 Sumac was named as a finalist for the Dayne Ogilvie Prize for emerging LGBTQ writers.[9]

Publications
  • 'there are hierarchies of grief'. 2016 Canadian Literature.
  • "All My Relations": Aunties, Cousins, And Indigenous Methods Of Recognition. 2017 Write Magazine.
  • "No Pipelines On Stolen Native Land". 2017 Electric City Magazine.
  • "Two Spirit and Queer Indigenous Resurgence through Sci-Fi Futurisms, Doubleweaving, and Historical Re-Imaginings: A Review Essay" published on July 31, 2018 for Kent University.

References
  1. "About – Smokii Sumac". Retrieved 2019-04-16.
  2. Chazan, May; Baldwin, Melissa; Evans, Patricia (2018). Unsettling Activisms: Critical Interventions on Aging, Gender, and Social Change. Canadian Scholars' Press. p. 16.
  3. "Poet finds their new voice". The Columbia Valley Pioneer. 2019-01-02. Retrieved 2019-04-16.
  4. "Smokii Sumac on Being Seen in Poetry, Why Endings Matter, and a New Spin on Love Letters". Open Book. February 21, 2019.
  5. Cole, Jenn (May 3, 2019). "You Are Enough: Love Poems for the End of the World by Smokii Sumac (Ktunaxa)". Muskrat Magazine.
  6. Morford, Ashley Caranto (2-19). ""(big)/little" moments of world-building revolution: a review of Smokii Sumac's you are enough: love poems for the end of the world". Transmotion. 5 (1): 336–339. Check date values in: |date= (help)
  7. "How a scholarly association is helping Indigenous writers to thrive". University Affairs. Retrieved 2019-04-16.
  8. Patricia. "SMOKII SUMAC". kegedonce.com. Retrieved 2019-04-16.
  9. Ryan Porter, "Finalists announced for the 2020 Dayne Ogilvie Prize for LGBTQ Emerging Writers". Quill & Quire, August 25, 2020.
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