North of Middle Island journeys to the southernmost tip of the territories held by Canada. The first section of the book captures, in verse, the spirit of the relatively isolated, sparsely populated community of Pelee Island. The pieces explore contemporary Indigenous experience in the natural and built environments of the island and surrounding waters.

The second section is comprised of an epic poem entitled “Piper” that tells, in traditional Anglo-Saxon style, a new Lenape myth of how Deerwoman (Ahtuhxkwe) comes to Pelee Island. The events of this epic tale are loosely based on the infamous professional wrestler and actor Rowdy Roddy Piper’s time on the island, and the events of Wrestlemania XII, Piper’s notorious “Backlot Brawl” with fellow wrestler Goldust (Nkuli Punkw).

Follow acclaimed Moravian of the Thames First Nation poet D.A. Lockhart on this lyrical, epic journey into the unique culture and landscapes that lie just North of Middle Island.

“Part border report, part vision, Lockhart’s new poems transport the reader via the momentum of a restless, agile imagination. Whether exploring lyric impressions of our natural world, or imagining the mythic dimensions of a local conflict, North of Middle Island is abundant, dramatic, passionate and ambitious in its gifts of observation and story-telling.”
—David O’Meara, author of Masses on Radar