Local writer feeds her inner fire

By Melissa Piche Times Contributor

Francine Cunningham of Strathmore is an Indigenous writer, artist and educator whose poem “Feeding the Fire” has made the longlist for the 2022 CBC Poetry Prize. The list consists of 26 writers from across Canada. 

Cunningham grew up in Calgary, attended University in B.C. and then moved to Strathmore during the pandemic looking for some place a little quieter and she thinks she has found just that. 

Her poem, “Feeding the Fire,” was “inspired by the graves that started to be found at various residential schools.” 

Her Nohkom, (Cree for grandmother) was placed in a residential school in Edmonton. 

“It’s something that has permeated every fabric of our lives. And I just really wanted to show that to people,” said Cunningham. 

Most of Cunningham’s grandparents’ siblings and cousins were also taken to a residential school in Northern Alberta. 

“I remember growing up and that generation (referring to her grandparents) spoke Cree and asking myself ‘why don’t I?’ When I learned what a residential school was, I was filled with so much anger,” she said. 

Cunningham explains that her anger was twofold and “the intergenerational facts that people like me are still living with.” 

In her poem she wanted to make sure she highlighted the children. 

“It’s so easy for those number (of found children) to be forgotten,” said Cunningham. “I wanted to write something so we don’t forget.” 

“Feeding the Fire” will be featured in her next book that she is currently working on. The book is described as more of a deeper dive memoir on what she presented in her first book of poetry called “On/Me.” 

Cunningham explains that as an Indigenous writer sometimes you can get put into a certain category of writing. 

“For Indigenous writers that want to branch out into science fiction, fantasy or crime, all of these types of genres, it can be really hard for the general public to let go of what they expect of us,” she said. 

The general expectation of Indigenous authors, from Cunningham’s personal experiences, is to write about trauma-based encounters. She said it can get really hard for Indigenous authors to have fun in their writing and be taken seriously in different writing styles.

Cunningham is an accomplished writer and multiple award winner. Some of her accomplishments include first place in 2019 at the Indigenous Voices Award; she was the winner of Grain Magazine’s 2018 Short Forms Fiction Contest; she was one of the 2017 Hnatyshyn Foundation’s REVEAL Indigenous Art Award winners; and she was a recipient of a 2017 TELUS Storyhive Grant for a web series.

Her children’s book called “What if Bedtime Didn’t Exist?” will be released in 2023. “This book is pure fun and imagination,” she said. 

The books inspiration came from games she plays with her many nieces and nephews when they let their imaginations run wild. Her poem “What if?” is featured in her book of poetry; she was approached by Caitlin Press to see if she could translate the poem into a children’s book. She worked on the concept of the book for a year asking her nephews and nieces crazy “what if” questions. She is currently working on a new children’s book; the details are being kept quiet for now but she hinted, “it will be a fun book filled with a lot of imagination.” 

Cunningham’s books “On/Me” and “God isn’t Here Today” can be found locally at the Strathmore Library. Cunningham and her sister can also be found at the Farmers Market in the summer and any craft sales around town where her publications can be purchased. 

You can view her work and read about her next projects on her website (www.francinecunningham.ca).