Blood by Tyler Pennock is a story that follows the wants and needs of a Two-Spirit person and connects to the pain felt with each decision made by the protagonist. Using poetry, the author shares their story as they walk through life as a queer Indigenous person. As we read through the poems, we feel the longing felt by the author as they share their story while connecting it to their culture. Pennock’s book is like music being shared with the reader, which shares all parts of their life, from what is painful to what is glorious. Through their poetry, the reader identifies with the importance of relationships and the importance of maintaining a positive outlook on humanity. Pennock brings in his experiences with life throughout his writing. There is a focus on Anishinaabe relationalities, which the poet shares both openly and honestly.

Other End Matter: Acknowledgements
Contributor Affiliation: Author Tyler Pennock (Cree and Métis), Illustrator Ovila Mailhot (Coast Salish of Stó:lō and Nlaka’pamux Nations), Editor Joshua Whitehead (Oji-nêhiyaw from Peguis First Nation)
Bibliography: No
Index: No

Source: Books BC - Indigenous Books for Schools

Tyler Pennock, author of Bones, is a Two-Spirit Queerdo from Faust, Alberta, and is a member of Sturgeon Lake Cree Nation. They were adopted from a Cree and Métis family, and reunited with them in 2006. Tyler is a graduate of Guelph University's Creative Writing MFA program (2013), as well as the University of Toronto (2009). They have lived in Toronto for the past 25 years.

Tyler Pennock's profile page

"Pennock's Blood shines on the parts of the self that defy the ruthlessness of empire. By turns inward to the still and sobering power of language, and again outward to the echoes of 'leaves and wind,' a music as sensitive as it is revelatory ushers us into his unique measure of aliveness. The poet here is engaged and unafraid to look long." — Canisia Lubrin, author of The Dyzgraphxst

"The poems in Tyler Pennock's Blood generate a gentle music that is in turns both painful and reverent (sometimes at the same time). I value the way Pennock sits with contradiction and in doing so makes a whole spectrum of feeling possible. An important addition to a blossoming queer Indigenous literary tradition." — Billy-Ray Belcourt, author of This Wound Is a World and NDN Coping Mechanisms