In the Media

A talk that truly got real, ranging from Trump's obsession with the 51st state, to Bertrand's Albertan upbringing, eventually landing on his poetry and writings on Alberta's Black history.

An interview about Bertrand's project on historic Black cowboys in Canada, with Min Dhariwal, co-host of Edmonton's drive-home show.

This article features a talk on cattle brands, Black history, and poetry that Bertrand delivered as Athabasca University's writer in residence. It was syndicated in a number of publications from Great West Media.

As part of his duties as the writer in residence for Athabasca University, Bertrand will deliver two keynotes presenting his writing projects. This is the original coverage of the first of these talks.

The Calgary poet and “all around thinkerist” Bertrand Bickersteth matches American poet Morgan Parker’s award-winning collection Magical Negro with Coconut, by Edmonton spoken word artist Nisha Patel.

Bickersteth spoke with Shelagh Rogers about three books that share subversive themes of place, placement and heading north: Magnetic Equator by Kaie Kellough, Paying the Land by Joe Sacco and A Journey for the Ages by Matthew A. Henson.

Poet Bertrand Bickersteth talks about his new collection The Response of Weeds, which is inspired by his experiences as a Black man in Alberta.

This award-winning documentary was written and directed by the invaluable Cheryl Foggo, memoirist, historian, playwright, children's and YA author, and filmmaker! This documentary is about Cheryl's relationship to Alberta's famous Black cowboy, John Ware. Bertrand features in a small part of it. The film is freely available to stream through the NFB!

The popular podcast's first season is now archived, but you can still listen to it through the link above. In this episode, Bertrand discusses his personal, familial, and historical connections to a Black settlement in Nova Scotia whose origins trace back to the 1700s. To listen, click on the link and scroll down to the episode called "The Secret Life of Birchtown."

Bertrand’s talk, the Weight of Words, underlines how our historical frameworks determine how we presently understand the world, and subsequently, influences how our future is shaped. Bertrand further examines how words and languages, tools that we may take for granted, are more powerful than we think.