Michelle’s debut book of poems…

“You need / only be the simple / expression of the divine / intent / that is your life.”
A chapbook of poems & photos…

“These sustain me as I swing through the treacherous air,/ one hand of god after the other.”
Anthology by Demeter Press…

Michelle’s personal essay Understanding My Face, which is about discovering her Métis heritage, appears in this anthology.

As featured on The Next Chapter with Shelagh Rogers
And CBC Books…
The CBC Books Writers to Watch list: 30 Canadian writers on the rise in 2022
The CBC Books summer reading list: 45 cool books to read while the weather heats up

Reviewed by Mary Ann Moore
“Indeed, the content will make readers uncomfortable due to descriptions of the author’s childhood trauma and/or references to settler privilege and non-acknowledgment as such. Family members may be “sorry” to read long-held secrets revealed.
Most important, Poirier Brown has put an end to silence….”
Praise for You Might Be Sorry You Read This
“Michelle Poirier Brown’s first collection of poetry is accomplished and gripping. In her five-decade story, perceptions, denial, emotional embroilments and poignant tenderness are peeled back and examined. As the narrative builds, we encounter the sheer alchemical power of poetry. This is rare. You Might Be Sorry You Read This will change you.”
–Betsy Warland, Bloodroot: Tracing the Untelling of Motherloss
“‘One of the functions of poetry is to make you uncomfortable.’ This epigraph, by Pádraig Ó Tuama, begins Michelle Poirier Brown’s debut collection—a collection that intends, unapologetically, to discomfort the reader. With unflinching precision and the exactness of a fine poet’s eye, Poirier Brown challenges her readers to encounter not only her childhood trauma but, ultimately, the power of her self—her late-discovered Métis identity, her navigation of PTSD, her unwillingness to settle for less than the truth. In the final poem, “Self-Portrait of the Poet,” she concludes, “go ahead. look. / Look as long as you like.” Invitation or command, it’s a hard look Poirier Brown offers. It may make readers uncomfortable. But they won’t be sorry.”
—Laura Apol, author of A Fine Yellow Dust
“In her compelling debut collection, You Might Be Sorry You Read This, Michelle Poirier Brown pulls you into an intimate place of unflinching honesty. Brown’s poetic memoir confronts, explores and digests hard truths. There is no sitting quietly on the sidelines for the reader. Her book claims your engagement, especially in the second half. And as the speaker awakens to herself, the poems ring out with new confidence and resonance. I predict emphatically you will be grateful you read this.”
— Susan Alexander, author of Nothing You Can Carry

Michelle Poirier Brown lives and writes on the traditional unceeded territories of the syilx peoples, in Vernon, BC. You Might Be Sorry You Read This is her first book.
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