A review by allieeveryday
New Poets of Native Nations by Heid E. Erdrich
4.0
Anthologies are incredibly difficult to rate, but let's start here: of the 21 indigenous and native poets that make up this collection, I had previously heard of exactly four of them, and I had previously only read one of them (Layli Long Soldier's Whereas, which I was pleased to get to revisit in brief).
I love that this book gave me a small taste of the language of each of these poets, and gave a short biography of each with their published collections listed, and then in the authors' notes at the end, each suggested other native poets that more people should read. I've got quite a list going of other poets to check out now.
My favorites seem to be poems that are clear truth, sharp irony, vivid imagery.
-----
From "My Standard Response" by Karenne Wood:
As they ask, they think yes
I can see it in her face. High cheekbones
(whatever those are) and dark hair.
Here's a thought: don't we all have
high cheekbones? If we didn't,
our faces would cave in.
-----
"What Is Left" by Sy Hoahwah:
What is left
of my family's 160 acres:
A lone pecan tree
On the fringe of Cache Creek
A squirrel runs up and down
the trunk
carrying insults
between my dead grandfather
and the birds that live
in the top branches.
I carve my name
on the moon's teeth.
-----
(I read that line about the squirrel's insults out loud to Matt because it was just awesome and hilarious.)
-----
And finally, "Dakota Homecoming" by Gwen Nell Westerman:
We are so honored that
you are here, they said.
We know that this is
your homeland, they said.
The admission price
is five dollars, they said.
Here is your button
for the event, they said.
It means so much to us that
you are here, they said.
We want to write
an apology letter, they said.
Tell us what to say.
-----
DAMN.
I'd say, if you're at all interested in poetry, check this collection out. There will likely be something you will love here among these authors, and it'll give you a glimpse of some of the amazing work that isn't necessarily getting a lot of mainstream attention (but should be!).
I love that this book gave me a small taste of the language of each of these poets, and gave a short biography of each with their published collections listed, and then in the authors' notes at the end, each suggested other native poets that more people should read. I've got quite a list going of other poets to check out now.
My favorites seem to be poems that are clear truth, sharp irony, vivid imagery.
-----
From "My Standard Response" by Karenne Wood:
As they ask, they think yes
I can see it in her face. High cheekbones
(whatever those are) and dark hair.
Here's a thought: don't we all have
high cheekbones? If we didn't,
our faces would cave in.
-----
"What Is Left" by Sy Hoahwah:
What is left
of my family's 160 acres:
A lone pecan tree
On the fringe of Cache Creek
A squirrel runs up and down
the trunk
carrying insults
between my dead grandfather
and the birds that live
in the top branches.
I carve my name
on the moon's teeth.
-----
(I read that line about the squirrel's insults out loud to Matt because it was just awesome and hilarious.)
-----
And finally, "Dakota Homecoming" by Gwen Nell Westerman:
We are so honored that
you are here, they said.
We know that this is
your homeland, they said.
The admission price
is five dollars, they said.
Here is your button
for the event, they said.
It means so much to us that
you are here, they said.
We want to write
an apology letter, they said.
Tell us what to say.
-----
DAMN.
I'd say, if you're at all interested in poetry, check this collection out. There will likely be something you will love here among these authors, and it'll give you a glimpse of some of the amazing work that isn't necessarily getting a lot of mainstream attention (but should be!).