Autobiography in “Song of Rita” by Rita Joe Essay (Book Review)

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Introduction

Rita Joe’s “Song of Rita” received huge following due to its comprehensive scrutiny of historical and contemporary Canadian life. Rita was a renowned writer; she received copious accolades because of her resilience and expertise in writing. Rita is still revered all over the world by both her critics and supporters for the robustly textured books she wrote. Rita was born in 1932 in Whycocomagh, Cape Breton, she was orphaned at a tender age of ten (Macleod 1). The Canadian poet overcame several obstacles to become a world-renowned writer. Rita died in 2007 from Parkinson’s disease (Paul 1). This paper will critically analyze Rita’s book “Song of Rita”.

Summary

Rita is a Mi’kmaq writer who provided an enlightening story in her book “Song of Rita”. In the book, Rita narrates about her remarkable life during youth and adulthood. Rita talks about her education in Indian residential school as well as the daily obstacles she had to overcome to succeed. The author talks about the daily struggles she faced in her effort to battle with family issues in her aboriginal heritage. Rita also narrates about her turbulent marriage.

Moreover, she talks about her differences with the community, which she loved. Rita also narrates about her fight against racism, and poverty. Also, Rita talks about her fight against sexism, which was rife at the time. Interestingly, Rita also talks about personal demons, which were evident in her first poems. Nonetheless, the author finally manages to reclaim her status as aboriginal. Moreover, the poems help Rita to deepen her enduring spiritual quest (Joe 1).

Analysis

Rita Joe’s poems in “Song of Rita Joe” are well refined and succinct. Rita uses the poems to outline her main challenges, which are reminiscent of the challenges, which faced aboriginals of her time. The book articulates Rita’s defiance in fighting racism, poverty, and sexism. The author shows her struggles with community traditions. Also, it outlines the dominant issues, which affected aboriginals. Rita’s story highlights the strength of women in inspiring the social lifestyles of society. Rita uses persuasive gentleness to send her message to the Mi’kmaq nation. The author stands out as an educator throughout the book. Also, Rita sticks out as an activist who uses gentle persuasion to enlighten her community. The poems in the book are well rhymed, which shows Rita’s prowess in poetry (NUP 1).

Rita uses the book to show her patience in an abusive marriage which she endures to have eight children. Rita’s story is reminiscent of aboriginal people popularly known as the lost generation. This generation left their traditions and cultural practices for modernity. In essence, Rita uses the poem to remind the aboriginals of the times when they lost their heritage. Interestingly, the author does not moan over the trauma of life she faced. Instead, Rita writes her poems with aspiration and fervor to illustrate her life and that of her people, the Mi’kmaq. She ends up as a leader in her community out of the unwavering spiritual strength from the Mi’kmaq culture (Newhouse 1).

Conclusion

Rita Joe is a renowned poet with international accolades. Her book Song of Rita entails an absorbing life story of a woman struggling to solve societal problems such as sexism, racism, and poverty, among others. Rita comes out as a leader who works to revitalize her Mi’kmaq community. The book is well written with astute correctness. This book is inspiring and educative to viewers (Adams and Clare 9-11).

Works Cited

Adams, Trevor, and Clare Stephen. Atlantic Canada’s 100 Greatest Books, Halifax: Nimbus Publishing limited, 2009. Print.

Joe, Rita. Song of Rita Joe: Autobiography of a Mikmaq Poet (American Indian Lives), Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press, 1996. Print.

Macleod, Alistair. “My Favourite Place: Deep Roots on Cape Breton.” Toronto Star. 2012:1 Print.

Newhouse, David. . 2004. Web.

NUP. . Web.

Paul, Daniel. A Tribute to an Honourable Lady: Rita Joe – The Closing of a Class Act. 2007. Web.

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IvyPanda. 2020. "Autobiography in "Song of Rita" by Rita Joe." August 16, 2020. https://ivypanda.com/essays/autobiography-in-song-of-rita-by-rita-joe/.

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IvyPanda. "Autobiography in "Song of Rita" by Rita Joe." August 16, 2020. https://ivypanda.com/essays/autobiography-in-song-of-rita-by-rita-joe/.

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