Inuk poet describes writing as a way to navigate grief, healing

When Stephanie Mikki Adams opened a box containing the first 100 printed copies of her debut poetry collection In the Silence, I Found Myself, she said the moment felt “surreal.” 

“It was excitement, pride, gratitude, all at once,” said Adams, who is the executive director of the Inuuqatigiit Centre for Inuit Children, Youth and Families, in Ottawa.

After years of writing privately to process grief and racism she has faced, last month she released the first instalment in her planned Still Here: A Reclamation Trilogy, drawing on more than 2,000 poems written since her teenage years in Rankin Inlet.

“I really did not write these poems thinking I was going to publish,” Adams said. “I had really written them down just for myself, so I would be able to get my own emotions out.”

While serving as co-chair of the Ottawa Aboriginal Coalition, she began sharing poems during meeting openings and closings. 

One of the facilitators encouraged Adams to consider publishing her work. 

“My family, the ones I spoke to about it, were all in favour of me publishing the book,” said Adams. “I had informed each of them that there was a poem about them, and they were all very emotional and happy that I included them in my poetry.” 

The nearly 500-page collection, launched May 20 at Nunavut Sivuniksavut in Ottawa, explores family, Inuit identity, colonialism, resilience and the memories of loved ones Adams has lost, including her daughter, mother, brothers and sister.

The title In the Silence, I Found Myself emerged after Adams began organizing her poems with her publisher FriesenPress last September. 

Raised in a busy household in Rankin Inlet and now living in a four-generation home in Ottawa, Adams said silence was rare throughout much of her life.

“When I did finally sit in my garage quietly by myself, that’s when I realized how powerful silence really was,” she said.

The cover art, which she created, is based on a traditional design her daughter made that represents their family. Adams also has the symbol tattooed on her arm. 

The collection includes poems dedicated to Inuit and Indigenous leaders, among them Gov. Gen. Mary Simon.

“I really believe that Mary Simon paved the way for us younger leaders and aspiring leaders to be able to see ourselves in those positions of power,” Adams said. 

She has poems dedicated to Jose Kusugak, who was president of Nunavut Tunngavik Inc. in the late 1990s, and Nunavut Senator Nancy Karetak-Lindell, in her upcoming books. 

The second volume, Where the Heart Carries the Light, is expected later this summer, followed by Still Here Still Speaking in early 2027.