Michelle Porter and the Métis Way: Writing Style, Voice, and “Telling It All Crooked”

When writing her memoir Scratching River, Michelle Porter balanced not only her own voice, but the added layer of family interviews and newspaper accounts. As Michelle notes, this story of her and her brother could be told in many different ways—in a journalistic fashion, following a linear storyline—but she chose to weave these narrative elements with her Métis ancestry, oral histories, and research. In other words, she decided to “tell it all crooked,” resulting in a mix of poetics, primary documents, and emotional weight.

In this third episode, Michelle discusses her writing style, a blend of poetry, research, and truth—creative nonfiction. She explains the value in fusing these techniques together, especially when the subject matter concerns emotional or traumatic events. Finally, Michelle digs into the narrative voice of Scratching River and the decision to use her 14-year-old self as a guide—and the difficult editing process once she let that past self go.

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