On National Day for Truth and Reconciliation, we are reminded that truth is carried in people, in families, in communities, in memory, and in the stories that are passed from one generation to the next. You Shine Today: Poems for a New Spring brings together the voices of Indigenous women who have chosen to share pieces of their lives through poetry. Within these pages are memories, reflections, pain, humour, strength, tenderness, loss, love, resilience, and hope. Each poem is deeply personal, but together they create something larger: a space where Indigenous women are not spoken about, interpreted, or reduced to someone else’s version of their story. They are the storytellers.
There is something deeply important about that. Reconciliation requires more than acknowledgment. It requires listening, and listening means making room for people to speak in their own voices and trusting that their words are enough. These poems remind us that Indigenous experiences cannot be reduced to hardship alone. There is joy here. There is humour. There is creativity, connection, love, personality, memory, and the fullness of lives lived within community.
On this National Day for Truth and Reconciliation, LITE is honoured to recognize the women behind You Shine Today and the honesty, courage, vulnerability, humour, and creativity they have shared through this collection. Their words ask us not only to reflect on the truths of the past, but to remain present in the work of reconciliation now. That means continuing to listen after September 30, continuing to make space for Indigenous stories, knowledge, art, and lived experiences, and continuing to understand that reconciliation is not confined to one day of remembrance.
Today, we honour the voices within these pages, and we carry the responsibility to keep listening beyond today. 🧡
You Shine Today: Poems for a New Spring
“The Heart of the City” Women’s Poetry Collective
Monarda Press
Continue the Conversation
The conversation does not end here. LITE is continuing to centre the voices behind You Shine Today through a new series of interviews with contributors to the collection.
Hear directly from Denise Cook, Fran Dauphinais, Lana Fontaine and Madison Yuzicipi as they reflect on the memories, relationships, grief, healing and experiences that shaped their writing, and what being part of You Shine Today has meant to them personally.