Holy Waterfall: 16 New & Selected Poems for Mohkínstsis akápiyoyis & the Red River

Tucked away from the monotone hustle of the world, Holy Waterfall brings readers onto a journey through the personal and profound trails of poet Brennan Kenneth Brown. For the first time ever, this debut chapbook is publishing a series of confessional poetry and outsider art, which is the culmination of the poet’s ten years of effort to explore his Indigenous identity, religious beliefs, traumatic past, family, love, and all of the uncomfortable and undiscovered feelings in between. Within these astonishingly mortal stanzas, enter into a space of careful detail, traversing carefully through Brown’s perspectives on the world.

With traditional spirit and resolute commitment, Brown faithfully directs our journey by representing his heroic battle with the psychological intertwining of his ancestry and his own universal experiences—all of which form his unique identity as a young Queer Métis poet. As we dive into the spiritual waterfall that cascades into the pages, readers will soon recognise themselves in the illuminating reflections. A Gospel of poetry and art, Holy Waterfall works as a reflection of the poet’s soul, a way to cleanse and renew the spirit.

As readers further explore the depths of the poet’s carefully crafted words, we will emerge from the waterfall and enter a world in which everything before is completely unfamiliar. Come and sit in awe with Holy Waterfall, and explore a vast collection of poetic stories, musings, and confessional moments through the eyes of Brown's uniquely-crafted poetry. Immerse yourself in a world of lush detail and vivid imagery, allowing yourself to discover a hidden understanding of identity, and learn valuable lessons on the beauty and serenity that can be found in life’s moments, both difficult and joyous.

From "An Appendix of Oral Tradition" to "Birthright" and "Breaking the Water" each poem is an invitation to consciously create space for healing and for the affirmation of Indigenous identity. In “Moving Day, Meals & New Schools”, and "The Fallback", Brown reveals the reality of living between two cultures, in “Sword-Fighting at Mistaya Canyon” and "Lamb Sestina", Brown invites his readers to reflect on the power of uncomfortable love. Making us inspect the dark mysteries of homesteading and exploring our relationship with the land – half romanticising, half mourning the disappearance of family and identity.

At the turn of the page, the reader is taken to a creative place founded on a shared understanding and celebration of healing and loss In the protest “Wild Columbine” and the lamentation "Mount Royal Dichotomy", Brown brings readers in, struggling to make sense of the disconnection of our ideals and the cruel unflinching world around us. All you have to do is be brave enough to take the plunge. Will you?