David Yerex Williamson – Through Disassembled Houses of Perfect Stones

The weight of history lies on the spine of memory. That heft and delicate balance are palpable in these rich poems that echo with grief, longing, and observed beauty.  From the silence and complexity of the northern wilderness to the vast prairie landscapes stretching across the province, Through Disassembled Houses of Perfect Stones explores self, ancestry, and community through poems that dwell on the page with a satisfying density of imagery. Combining careful observation with sensitive reflection, this work examines the poet’s memory and experience as a father, son, husband, and descendent of European settlers married into an Indigenous family living in Northern Manitoba.

Content Warning: None.

About the Author

David Yerex Williamson is an instructor and poet living in northern Manitoba on the banks of the Nelson River on Treaty 5 Territory of the Kinasao Sipi Cree Nation (Norway House). His recent works have appeared in The Dalhousie Review, Prairie Fire, The New Quarterly, Prairie Journal of Literature, Heartwood, a League of Canadian Poets anthology in honour of our relationship with trees, and Sweet Water, by Caitlyn Press, an anthology about water sheds. He is also the co-founder of the Language Arts Festival for University College of the North, an annual writing and performing arts festival that introduces high school students from across the north to professional story-makers. His debut collection of poetry, Through Disassembled Houses of Perfect Stones, was published by At Bay Press and nominated for a 2023 Manitoba Book Award. When not teaching, writing or drawing, David shovels snow, cuts wood and chases his dogs along the historic river.