Green Fuse Burning Review
There are times in our lives when it feels like life is controlling us, and we’re being swept along, powerless to change our course. There are other times, when we feel we can take charge, forge our own path, determine our destiny.
When we lose someone, it’s common to feel like we no longer have control over our lives. It’s natural to grieve. We grieve a person, a lost relationship, but sometimes, we grieve for even more. Some grieve the loss of possibilities, of hopes for a future unrealized. Some grieve the loss of connection, how the person’s absence unmoors us and casts us adrift, without the link we needed to tie us to our family, culture, or peers.
Rita’s suffering from all these losses. Her grief for her father includes her grief over future hopes unrealized and that loss of connection, to her culture and community. Those hopes she had to build and strengthen connections amplify the loss of connection she feels because she’d hoped to be closer to her father, to connect to her Mi’kmaw roots, to connect to her people.
At this point, Rita’s loss of relationships is the tipping point, pushing her into revelations about herself that have always seeped into her art. Now, she can finally put words to those revelations. She says at one point:
Life was like a language I couldn’t speak.
We feel that truth on the page.
Morris’s writing style is immersive. It flows like thought. The mind forms connections and these connections aren’t always anchored in wise words or profound events. Sometimes, it’s in the quiet moment when revelation strikes, in a series of thoughts that connect in ways that aren’t immediately apparent, and that’s true for Rita.
Rita’s mind is pushing her towards realizations about herself, her grief, and her place in the world. It’s a powerful and heart-wrenching journey, and I felt her grief, loneliness, and despair on every page until the end, when Rita must either wrest control of her life, anchored in her discoveries, or let life sweep her away.
A beautiful and powerful story. This could be hard for anyone dealing with loss and grief. There’s much here that will resonate with Indigenous persons disconnected from their culture and ancestors, trying to find their place in the world. Oh, and the artwork is incredible. Stelliform Press has paid attention to all the details, producing a work of art worthy of 5/5 stars.
darkdispatch.com 