Bent Back Tongue

In his latest collection, Secwépemc rancher and renowned poet Garry Gottfriedson explores the fraught mechanics of contemporary masculinity, politics, and love.

Bent Back Tongue is a raw examination of love, identity, politics, masculinity, and vulnerability. Through sharp honesty and revealing satire, Gottfriedson delves into Canadian colonialism and the religious political paradigms shaping experiences of a Secwépemc First Nations man. This is a book that tears through deceptions that both Canada and the church impose on their citizens. Gottfriedson tackles the darkest layers of a shared colonial history; at the same time, the poems in Bent Back Tongue are a celebration of love, land, family, and the self.

Garry Gottfriedson is from Kamloops, BC. He holds a Masters of Arts Education Degree from Simon Fraser University. In 1987, the Naropa Institute in Boulder, Colorado awarded a Creative Writing Scholarship to Gottfriedson for Masters of Fine Arts Creative Writing. There, he studied under Allen Ginsberg, Marianne Faithfull, and others. Gottfriedson has ten published books, including Clinging to Bone and Skin Like Mine. Gottfriedson’s work is strongly rooted in his Secwépemc (Shuswap) cultural teachings. Currently, he works at Thompson Rivers University.