Poetry

Previous versions of "mennocostal 1" and "mennocostal 2" appeared in Rhubarb: A Magazine of New Mennonite Art and Writing 13 (2007). Previous versions of "cancer" and "palliative care ward" appeared in Rhubarb 15 (2007).

 

Chapter in German Diasporic Experiences

Abstract. One cultural storyline of the German Mennonites¾a practice they learn and live by, and express in their discourse¾is that of the Mennonites as peacemakers. Admirably, the Mennonites have been opposed to war and conflict for centuries. However, the work of critically-acclaimed poet Di Brandt, of Canadian Mennonite heritage, suggests that pacifism, or nonresistance, can silence individual expression and perpetuate abuse in the interest of keeping community peace. In 1987, Brandt challenged the Mennonite storyline of nonresistance and silence by publishing poetry¾revolutionary in her patriarchal separatist home community—and by writing about controversial subjects such as religious contradictions, female sexuality, and misogyny. Brandt’s collected poetry and prose redefine her cultural identity by relocating it within a storyline of protest and resistance that characterizes the outspoken Mennonite writer as a dissenter like her sixteenth-century Anabaptist ancestors. Her writing also offers insight into the reshaping of the greater Canadian Mennonite cultural identity.

 

Wiebe, N. (2008). Di Brandt’s writing breaks Canadian Mennonite silence and reshapes cultural identity. In M. Schulze, J. M. Skidmore, D. G. John, G. Liebscher, & S. Siebel-Achenbach (Eds.), German Diasporic Experiences: Identity, Migration, and Loss. Waterloo, ON: Wilfrid Laurier University Press.