"Ceremonies for the Dead is an award-winning collection of poems that examine the haunting themes of inter-generational trauma, cyclical abuse, and inherited grief. Four generations of the dead take turns narrating these themes, navigating from the Great Lakes through the Appalachian Mountains, and examining the fur trade, an exile from Minnesota, the experiences of West Virginia coal miners, and the legacy of mission schools. Black humour and satire fill the collection, illuminating a fierce determination to survive and resist colonization and the endurance of culture and identity under extreme duress."
"Ceremonies for the Dead" was Gwen's first book and is devoid of any reference to transgenderism as she did not come out as a transgender woman yet. She did it in her second book titled "Passage" (2016). As she said: "It was always very clear for me that I would transition. I've been talking about it since I was a kid, and everyone in my life has known that. But I thought I would transition later in life. In writing the collection, I came to see that the time to transition was now. I realized I couldn't connect with people until I was truly myself. That's what led me to write this collection, to find a way back to myself. One of the interesting things for me looking at Passage is moving from a place of living as a gay man and that viewpoint — and there's poems that flag that this isn't working — and me shifting into envisioning myself as a woman, and embodying that. There's a literal passage there in how I'm engaging with the world."
Her poetry often reflects on the intersections of her identity and the challenges faced by Indigenous and transgender communities. In addition to her work as a writer, Gwen Benaway is an advocate for the rights of Indigenous and LGBTQ+ individuals. She has been involved in community organizing and activism, addressing issues such as violence against Indigenous women and the rights of trans people.
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