Billy-Ray Belcourt
Billy-Ray Belcourt is a Canadian poet, scholar, and author known for his works that explore themes of indigeneity, queerness, and colonialism. He is a member of the Driftpile Cree Nation and has received numerous accolades for his writing, including the Griffin Poetry Prize.
Books
This list of books are ONLY the books that have been ranked on the lists that are aggregated on this site. This is not a comprehensive list of all books by this author.
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1. The Idea Of An Entire Life
Set against the backdrop of contemporary Indigenous life, this poignant narrative explores the complexities of identity, love, and belonging. Through a series of introspective reflections and vivid storytelling, the protagonist navigates the intersections of personal history and cultural heritage, grappling with the weight of ancestral legacies and the search for self-acceptance. The narrative weaves together moments of vulnerability and resilience, offering a profound meditation on the human condition and the enduring quest for meaning in a fragmented world.
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2. A Minor Chorus
A lyrical, genre-bending collection that weaves intimate poems and prose toward explorations of queerness, Indigenous identity, love, grief, and the ongoing violences of settler colonialism; the speaker navigates desire and vulnerability, moving between elegy and celebration to find music, kinship, and resilience amid trauma and survival.
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3. A History Of My Brief Body
A lyrical, fiercely intimate collection of essays that blends memoir, criticism and poetry to examine Indigenous queer life, desire, and the violences of colonialism; the author maps their body as a site of memory and resistance while interrogating family, grief, sex, and belonging, using spare, visceral language to reckon with intergenerational trauma and to imagine ways of surviving and loving in the aftermath.
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