Diversity Month 2022 Spotlight Series: Billy-Ray Belcourt

“Maybe if I surrender myself to grandmother moon she would know what to do with these pickaxe wounds… She gives me the Cree name Weesageechak and translates it to “sadness is a carcass his tears leave behind." 一Billy-Ray Belcourt, This Wound is a World (The Cree Word for a Body Like Mine is Weesageechak)

“If I’m a writer, it’s because to be an NDN is to be a concept that speaks. I live in the world of ideas because it’s the world of my people. If I’m a writer, it’s because to be queer is to worship loss—and what is a book but a losing game?” 一Billy-Ray Belcourt, A History of My Brief Body 

 

A native of the Driftpile Cree Nation, Billy-Ray Belcourt is an accomplished literary artist and academic. He was raised by his grandparents in Northern Alberta, within the Driftpile settlement, and by 19 years old, started writing poetry. 

Due to his immense talent in the literary arts and dedication to his studies, he was awarded the Rhodes Scholarship, which paved the way for his studies at Wadham College, Oxford University. By 2017, he finished with a master’s degree in Women’s Studies. He also earned his PhD degree in English at the University of Alberta, Canada (grad. 2020) as he was then awarded the Pierre Elliott Trudeau Foundation scholarship in 2018. Currently, he teaches Creative Writing at the University of British Columbia as an Assistant Professor.

His most well-acclaimed piece of work is his poetry book titled “This Wound is a World” which won him multiple awards throughout Canada一with some being the 2018 Canadian Griffin Poetry Prize and the 2018 Robert Kroetsch City of Edmonton Book Prize. Being his debut book, “This Wound is a World” is a collection of his experiences both as a native and as a member of the LGBTQ+ community living in the modern world. 

From this debut, not only was Belcourt regarded with a more refined public recognition, but the book also allowed him to leave his significant mark in literary history, as it made him the youngest winner of the Canadian Griffin Poetry Prize since its establishment. In essence, the book focuses on sexuality, love, and how they interact with the indigenous people’s identities as they carry on through the world with their own woes and sadness.

Photo from Amazon.com (Kindle Store)

Another noteworthy piece from his list of works is one book titled “A History of My Brief Body” which is a collection of essays and prose with themes on decolonial love, colonial violence, queerness, grief, as well as joy. Again, this book is founded on Belcourt’s own experiences as it puts his emotions, frustrations, and hopes in a clear, explicit view for his audience. Also serving as a memoir, “A History of My Brief Body” explores Belcourt’s core memories throughout his life that helped shape him to be the extraordinary person that he is today, dealing with the intricacies of his identity as an Indigenous person standing in the midst of the ever-moving modern world alongside the LGBTQ+ community.

Photo from Amazon.com (Kindle Store)

Billy-Ray Belcourt proves himself to be beyond capable of providing a unique take on representation for both the Indigenous people and those struggling within the LGBTQ+ community. With sharp, unrelenting honesty, paired with vicious tenacity for uncovering the truths within himself as a person, Belcourt stands as a superb voice for those who feel stuck within their identities.