We Become Poems: Poetry by Indigenous AuthorsLike this list

15 items

• An American Sunrise

  Poems

  Harjo, Joy

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  A stunning new volume from the first Native American Poet Laureate of the United States, informed by her tribal history and connection to the land.

• Where Clouds Are Formed

  Poems

  Zepeda, Ofelia

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  "the scent of burning wood / holds the strongest memory. / Mesquite, cedar, piñon, juniper, . . . / we catch the scent of burning wood; / we are brought home.” Dr. Zepeda is a Tohono O'odham poet and linguist, and her words are simply…Read moreRead more of this annotation

• Eyes Bottle Dark With a Mouthful of Flowers

  Poems

  Skeets, Jake

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  From Booklist: A winner of the 2018 National Poetry Series, Skeets' darkly resonant debut book of poetry indulges readers in the dangerous eroticism experienced by its Dine speaker, for whom desire and violence intermingle at every turn:…Read moreRead more of this annotation

• Conflict Resolution for Holy Beings

  Poems

  Harjo, Joy

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  In each poem, there is music that riffs and sings and sometimes drums, as well as a sense of community and connection: "To understand each/ other is profound beyond human words.// This is what I am singing." (Library Journal, August 2015)

• When My Brother Was An Aztec

  Diaz, Natalie

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  "I write hungry sentences," Natalie Diaz once explained in an interview, "because they want more and more lyricism and imagery to satisfy them." This debut collection is a fast-paced tour of Mojave life and family narrative: A sister…Read moreRead more of this annotation

• Dissolve

  Bitsui, Sherwin, 1975-

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  Drawing upon Navajo history and enduring tradition, Sherwin Bitsui leads us on a treacherous, otherworldly passage through the American Southwest.

• Storyteller

  Silko, Leslie Marmon, 1948-

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  Storyteller blends original short stories and poetry influenced by the traditional oral tales that Leslie Marmon Silko heard growing up on the Laguna Pueblo in New Mexico with autobiographical passages, folktales, family memories, and…Read moreRead more of this annotation

• Whereas

  Long Soldier, Layli

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  This volume confronts the coercive language of the United States government in its responses, treaties, and apologies to Native American peoples and tribes, and reflects that language in its officiousness and duplicity back on its…Read moreRead more of this annotation

• Flood Song

  Bitsui, Sherwin, 1975-

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  "I bite my eyes shut between these songs." So begins Flood Song, a concentrated, interweaving, painterly sequence in which Native tradition scrapes against contemporary urban life. Winner of the 2010 American Book Award. (Quote source:…Read moreRead more of this annotation

• Walking on Earth and Touching the Sky

  Poetry and Prose by Lakota Youth at Red Cloud Indian School

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  "This anthology presents profound, expressive, and hauntingly honest voices of Lakota youth on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation in South Dakota." (Horn Book, Fall 2012)

• For a Girl Becoming

  Harjo, Joy

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  This poem in free verse is addressed to a Native American girl about to go out into the world. The writing is lyrical with a natural rhythm and rich imagery. Harjo talks about the gifts the girl receives from her family at birth and her…Read moreRead more of this annotation

• Joy Harjo, the Poet of American Memory

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  An appreciation of Harjo's life and works on the occasion of her appointment in 2019 as the 23rd U.S. Poet Laureate. Harjo is the first Native American Poet Laureate.

• Native American Poetry and Culture | Poetry Foundation

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  A selection of poets, poems, and articles exploring the Native American experience.

• Native American Heritage Month | Academy of American Poets

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  In celebration of Native American Heritage Month, check out this selection of poems, essays, books, and more by and about Native American poets.

• Contemporary Native American Poetry Essentials

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  Some of the most interesting work in Contemporary American poetry is being done by American Indian writers.