A POEM ABOUT QUEEN ELIZABETH II

This recording is 16:35 minutes long.

RIELLY STARES lives and works in Kingston, Ontario and was educated at Queen’s University. As well being of English, French, and Irish descent; through her Anishinabek great-grandmother, she is descended from the Thessalon Ojibwe First Nation near Manitoulin Island. Contemplation of her ancestry and what it means often colours her work. In this audio recording the work is read by the author. The cover art is by Rielly Stares.

“And Elizabeth R my ten year old schoolgirl desk some neatly stacked twenty dollar bills, a double sheet of postage stamps, and a newspaper. She tours every country where the female monarchs walked and is so in profile currenced to her most every coin my hands have ever held. Shipping and in compatriots my every human citizen.”

Anticipating the forthcoming second anniversary of the death of Queen Elizabeth II on September 8, 2024; Canadian poet, writer, and artist Rielly Stares grapples with the complicated legacy of monarchy and colonialism from a feminist perspective in “A Poem about Queen Elizabeth II.”

"A Poem About Queen Elizabeth II” plays with the re-emergence of the black goddess, a neo-Jungian archetypal theme tied to the process of dismantling the colonial and racist political structures built for the purpose of the worldwide subjugation of black and brown peoples.

Weaving through the work is the founding concept of the “Take Back the Night” movement in 1970s America - a political stand for safety, freedom, and female empowerment. The poet in this piece celebrates and encourages others to walk on their own at night as a self-declaration of freedom. Interestingly, this is an option that Elizabeth II may not have had.

Rielly Stares can be contacted at riellystares@gmail.com.