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The definitive collection from a groundbreaking Native American poet whose work traces the fault lines between past and present, real and surreal, comedy and tragedy to unveil a transcendent new vision of the world Hailed by the Bloomsbury Review as "the nation's foremost contemporary Native American poet" and by Sherman Alexie as "the best poet in Indian Country," Ray Young Bear draws on ancient Meskwaki tradition and modern popular culture to create poems that provoke, astound, and heal. This indispensable volume, which contains three previously published collections-Winter of the Salamander (1979), The Invisible Musician (1990), and The Rock Island Hiking Club (2001)-as well as Manifestation Wolverine, a brilliant series of new pieces inspired by animistic beliefs, a Lazy-Boy recliner, and the word songs Young Bear sang to his children, is a testament to the singularity of the poet's talent and the astonishing range of his voice.
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Reviews
"Young Bear expresses feelings of isolation and loss shared by many Americans in the idiosyncratic vernacular of his tribal heritage . . . Highly recommended."
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"Tenderness, wit, an otherworldly attention, sorrow and abundance, dogs, irony, badgers, troubled girls, peyote and a yellow blanket. Let these poems wash over you and be thankful that Ray Young Bear is with us, here on earth, bearing witness."
Louise Erdrich
"I'm not exaggerating when I tell you that Ray Young Bear is the best poet in Indian Country and in the top 46 in the whole dang world. Sacred and profane, profound and irreverent, his poetry pushes you into a corner, roughs you up a bit, maybe takes your wallet, and then gives you a long kiss goodbye."
Booklist