nedí nezu (Good Medicine)

by Tenille K. Campbell

Indigenous Voices Award finalist
A celebratory, slyly funny, and bluntly honest take on sex and romance in NDN Country.

nedi nezu (Good Medicine) explores the beautiful space that being a sensual Indigenous woman creates – not only as a partner, a fantasy, a heartbreak waiting to happen but also as an auntie, a role model, a voice that connects to others walking the same path. From the online hookup world of DMs, double taps, and secret texts to earth-shakingly erotic encounters under the northern stars to the ever-complicated relationship Indigenous women have with mainstream society, this poetry collection doesn’t shy away from depicting the gorgeous diversity in decolonized desire. Instead, Campbell creates the most intimate of spaces, where the tea is hot and a seat is waiting, surrounded by the tantalizing laughter of aunties telling stories.

These wise, jubilant poems chronicle many failed attempts at romance, with the wry humour needed to not take these heartbreaks personally, and the growth that comes from sitting in the silence of living a solo life in a world that insists everyone should be partnered up. With a knowing smile, this book side-eyes the political existence and celebrates the lived experience of an Indigenous woman falling in love and lust with those around her -but, most importantly, with herself.

nedi nezu is a smart, sensual, and scandalous collection dripping in Indigenous culture yet irresistible to anyone in thrall to the magnificent disaster that is dating, sex, and relationships.

Paperback | 92 pages | Arsenal Pulp Press | 2021

Tenille K. Campbell is a Dene/Métis author and photographer from the English River First Nation in Treaty Ten, northern Saskatchewan. Her acclaimed debut poetry collection, #IndianLovePoems (Signature Editions), was shortlisted for the Indigenous Voices Award. Campbell is the force behind sweetmoon photography, which specializes in capturing NDN joy in its many forms. She is also the co-creator and a blogger at tea&bannock, an online collective for Indigenous women photographers and artists to share their stories. Campbell completed her MFA in creative writing at the University of British Columbia and is working on a doctoral degree in Indigenous Literature at the University of Saskatchewan.