Menlo School Library: Native Voices: Poetry

Collections in the Menlo Library

When the Light of the World Was Subdued, Our Songs Came Through by Joy Harjo (Editor); LeAnne Howe (As told to); Jennifer Foerster (As told to)
Publication Date: 2020-08-25

United States Poet Laureate Joy Harjo gathers the work of more than 160 poets, representing nearly 100 indigenous nations, into one momentous volume. This landmark anthology celebrates the indigenous peoples of North America, the first poets of this country, whose literary traditions stretch back centuries.
Postcolonial Love Poem by Natalie Diaz
Publication Date: 2020-03-03

Natalie Diaz's highly anticipated follow-up to When My Brother Was an Aztec, winner of an American Book Award, Postcolonial Love Poem is an anthem of desire against erasure. Natalie Diaz's brilliant second collection demands that every body carried in its pages--bodies of language, land, rivers, suffering brothers, enemies, and lovers--be touched and held as beloveds. Through these poems, the wounds inflicted by America onto an indigenous people are allowed to bloom pleasure and tenderness.
An American Sunrise by Joy Harjo
Publication Date: 2020-08-18

In this stunning collection, Joy Harjo finds blessings in the abundance of her homeland and confronts the site where the Mvskoke people, including her own ancestors, were forcibly displaced. From her memory of her mother's death, to her beginnings in the Native rights movement, to the fresh road with her beloved, Harjo's personal life intertwines with tribal histories to create a space for renewed beginnings.
Harper's Anthology of Twentieth Century Native American Poetry by Duane Niatum
Publication Date: 1988-05-14

Representing the work of thirty-one poets since the turn of the century, this is the definitive anthology of Native American poetry.
The Death of Sitting Bear by N. Scott Momaday
Publication Date: 2020-03-10

This luminous collection demonstrates Momaday's mastery and love of language and the matters closest to his heart. To Momaday, words are sacred; language is power. Spanning nearly fifty years, the poems gathered here illuminate the human condition, Momaday's connection to his Kiowa roots, and his spiritual relationship to the American landscape.
Finding the Center by Dennis Tedlock (Translator)
Publication Date: 1999-12-01

This second edition features new Zuni narrative poetry, updated transcriptions of stories from the original edition, a bibliography, and a new preface and introduction.