Rita Joe By Amy and Chelsea

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Rita JoeBy Amy and Chelsea

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Table of Contents

• Childhood
• The Beginnings of a Writer
• As an Author
• Rita Joe Heritage
• Pictures
• A sample of Rita pomes
• Bibliography

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Rita Joes Childhood

• Rita Joe was born in Whycocmagh, Cape Breton,
  Nova Scotia, on March 15, 1932. When Rita Joe was
  5 years old, her mother died. Then, five years
  later and when she was 10 years old her father
  also died. It was a horrible loss for her. Soon
  after, Rita wrote her first poem I Lost My
  Talk. She wrote poems instead of writing songs
  because she did not feel comfortable singing in
  front of people. Although Rita Joe had a tough
  childhood, she was making good progress with her
  writing.

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Rita Joe The Beginnings of a Writer

• Rita Joe has been interested in writing for
  many years. Rita started writing for a living
  back in 1973 in Cape Breton, Nova Scotia. Back
  then, Rita started writing for a newsletter
  called The Micmac News. There was a section with
  poems and stories, and Rita sent her pieces of
  writing in. The editor of that newsletter gave
  Rita some good advice when he told her, dont
  throw your poems away. Rita followed his advice,
  and over time she collected and saved her poems.
  

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Rita Joe As An Author

• Rita Joe collected her poems, and in 1978,
  she published her first book called Poems of Rita
  Joe. Her second book was published in 1988
  called Song Eskasoni. Three years later her book
  called Lnu and Indians Were Called was
  published. Her fourth book, called Kelusiltiek,
  meaning we speak was a combination of poems and
  stories published back in 1995.

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Rita Joe

• Rita Joe is a woman of Mikmaq heritage. When she
  was young, she attended the Shubenacadie
  Residential School. That was when she started to
  write about her culture, trying to hold onto it
  in a changing world. Today Rita Joe continues to
  use her writing as a way to capture the struggles
  of native people and to express her pride in her
  Mikmaq heritage.

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Sample of Ritas Poems

• A Special Friend
• Somewhere there I have a friend
• In this place without end
• Written word we bring to view
• Accumulating a purpose long over due,
• The message of unknown fame
• For the native of our country
• The Indian game
• Somewhere there have a friend
• The archives are her trade,
• The archives bringing nobility
• Together we relate the wonders of my nation,
• Our song a landing place.

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Bibliography

• Rita Joe.
• lt http// www. Abo- peoples org/ artists/more
  files/Rita.htm
• Rita Joe. 2001.
• lthttp// www. Tribal fires.com\Rita Joe/