Monday Poems: "The Potato Eaters" -- by Leonard E. Nathan

Sometimes, the naked taste of potato

reminds me of being poor.

The first bites are gratitude,

the rest, contented boredom.

The little kitchen still flickers

like a candle-lit room in a folktale.

Never again was my father so angry,

my mother so still as she set the table,

or I so much at home.

*     *     *     *     *

Leonard E. Nathan (1924-2007) was a poet, critic and professor emeritus of rhetoric at the University of California at Berkeley. His poetry collections include Returning Your Call (1975) which was nominated for a National Book Award; Carrying On: New and Selected Poems (1985), Diary of a Left-Handed Bird Watcher (1998); Tears of the Old Magician (2003), and Ragged Sonnets (2008).

William J. Cobb, author of 'The Bird Saviors'

When a dust storm engulfs her Colorado town and pink snow blankets the streets, a heartbreaking decision faces Ruby Cole, a girl who counts birds: She must abandon her baby or give in to her father, whom she nicknames Lord God, and marry a man more than twice her age who already has two wives. She chooses to run, which sets in motion an interlocking series of actions and reactions, upending the lives of an equestrian police officer, pawnshop riffraff, a disabled war vet, Nuisance Animal destroyers, and a grieving ornithologist--a field biologist studies the decline of bird populations. All the while, a growing criminal enterprise moves from cattle rustling to kidnapping to hijacking fuel tankers and murder as events spin out of control,.

Set in a time of economic turmoil, virus fears, climate change, fundamentalist cults and illegal immigrant hardship, The Bird Saviors is a visionary story of defiance, anger, and compassion, in which a young woman ultimately struggles to free herself from her domineering father, to raise her daughter in the chaos of the New West, and to become something greater herself.

Find out more about William J. Cobb and listen to the program, on the radio or online.

• Thursday, October 18 at 7:30 p.m. on Montana Public Radio
• Thursday, November 15 at 6:30 p.m. on Yellowstone Public Radio
• Online, anytime at MTPR.org
• Via the MTPR podcast

 

Children's Book Reviews: 'Buffalo Bird Girl' and 'Black Elk's Vision' - by S. D. Nelson

Buffalo Bird Girl: A Hidatsa Story by S.D. Nelson
Abrams Books for Young Readers, 2012

Black Elk's Vision: A Lakota Story by S.D. Nelson
Abrams Books for Young Readers, 2010

Abrams Books for Young Readers has recently published Buffalo Bird Girl: A Hidatsa Story retold by S. D. Nelson. This first person account of the childhood of a woman named Waheenee follows the same format as S.D. Nelson's Black Elk's Vision: A Lakota Story, which was published by Abrams in 2010.

Both books are accounts of the lives of Native Americans in the late 19th to early 20th centuries just before the Euro-American invasion. They are gorgeously illustrated by Nelson and include many archival photos of tribal people from the period in which the story is set as well as images of reconstructions of Native American artifacts and dwellings. Each story is told from the perspective of a real historical figure and describes what life was like for them when they were growing up on the Great Plains.

Buffalo Bird Girl's narrative describes how her tribe's dwellings and tools were made, what type of food they ate and how they acquired and prepared it, and how her people felt a spiritual connection to all living things. She tells of how the Hidatsa traded with friendly tribes and white fur traders, and fought against their enemies (interestingly, the Hidatsa and Lakota were warring tribes).

Buffalo Bird Girl considered herself to be “a happy, contented Indian girl,” and remembers her childhood as the happiest time of her life. She talks of making dolls and playing games with other girls (while the boys shot arrows, wrestled, and raced horses). The girls and women harnessed dogs to haul firewood, dried corn and other vegetables to last throughout the winter, and colored their cheeks with ochre and buffalo fat for dances and celebrations.

Black Elk's story focuses on a vision he had during a childhood illness which leads to his leadership role in his tribe as the U.S. Government moves in to the Great Plains killing buffallo and fighting the Lakota and Cheyenne nations. Custer's encounter with Crazy Horse is described in heartbreaking detail. In 1886, Black Elk and Sitting Bull join Buffalo Bill Cody's Wild West show and perform as Indians in New York and London.

Both stories contain at least one violent war scene, which include shootings and scalpings. And both end with the encroachment of Euro-Americans on the native lifestyle. Black Elk's story also includes some disturbing photos of U.S. Soldiers burying Indian corpses in a common grave after the Battle of Wounded Knee and concludes with the Lakota being moved to the Pine Ridge Reservation.

Following the first-person accounts, each book contains a fairly lengthy Author's Note and a Timeline which provides more historical information about the cultures portrayed in the stories. S.D. Nelson is a member of the Standing Rock Sioux/Lakota tribe of the Dakotas and grew up in a family that maintained many traditional ways, so several of his own childhood experiences mirrored those described in the stories.

The first-person account makes history more accessible for young readers, although I wonder about the target audience for these books. Some of the content is too mature for elementary school students, but the picture book format will likely put off young adults. The books might appeal to advanced middle school students, or to teachers who could choose to read selections to younger students. They would also be appropriate for adult early-readers since the historical accounts and documents will appeal to people of all ages.
_________________________________________________________

S.D. Nelson is a member of the Standing Rock Sioux tribe of the Dakotas. He is the author of a number of children's books. His artwork also appears on book jackets, greeting cards, and CD covers, and his paintings are held in private and public collections. He lives in Flagstaff, Arizona. Visit him online at www.sdnelson.net.
_________________________________________________________

Renée Vaillancourt McGrath has worked at Montana Public Radio as a program host since 2002. Her background is in librarianship and she currently works as a freelance editor and website designer and developer. Check out more of her book reviews at reneesreads.com.

Monday Poems: "The Hurt Locker" -- by Brian Turner

Nothing but hurt left here.

Nothing but bullets and pain

and the bled-out slumping

and all the fucks and goddamns

and Jesus Christs of the wounded.

Nothing left here but the hurt.

Believe it when you see it.

Believe it when a twelve-year-old

rolls a grenade into the room.

Or when a sniper punches a hole

deep into someone’s skull.

Believe it when four men

step from a taxicab in Mosul

to shower the street in brass

and fire. Open the hurt locker

and see what there is of knives

and teeth. Open the hurt locker and learn

how rough men come hunting for souls.

*     *     *     *     *

(NB: The phrase "the hurt locker" is a military colloquialism for being injured or in trouble.)

Poet Brian Turner earned an MFA from the University of Oregon before serving for seven years in the U.S. Army. Beginning in 2003, he was an infantry team leader for a year in Iraq with the 3rd Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 2nd Infantry Division. 

His debut collection, in which the above poem appears, is Here, Bullet, which won the 2005 Beatrice Hawley Award. His 2010 collection Phantom Noise was shortlisted for the T.S. Eliot prize. He is currently director of the low-residency MFA program at Sierra Nevada College at Lake Tahoe.

Emily Danforth, author of 'The Miseducation of Cameron Post'

When Cameron Post's parents die suddenly in a car crash, her shocking first thought is relief. Relief they'll never know that, hours earlier, she had been kissing a girl

But that relief doesn't last, and Cam is soon forced to move in with her conservative aunt Ruth and her well-intentioned but hopelessly old-fashioned grandmother. She knows that from this point on, her life will forever be different. Survival in Miles City, Montana, means blending in and leaving well enough alone (as her grandmother might say), and Cam becomes an expert at both

Then Coley Taylor moves to town. Beautiful, pickup-driving Coley is a perfect cowgirl with the perfect boyfriend to match. She and Cam forge an unexpected and intense friendship--one that seems to leave room for something more to emerge. But just as that starts to seem like a real possibility, ultrareligious Aunt Ruth takes drastic action to "fix" her niece, bringing Cam face-to-face with the cost of denying her true self--even if she's not exactly sure who that is

"The Miseducation of Cameron Post" is a noteworthy literary debut about discovering who you are and finding the courage to live life according to your own rules.

Find out more about Emily Danforth, and listen to the program, on the radio or online.

• Thursday, November 8 at 7:30 p.m. on Montana Public Radio
• Thursday, November 8 at 6:30 p.m. on Yellowstone Public Radio
• Online, anytime at MTPR.org
• Via the MTPR podcast

Children's Book Review: 'Buckamoo Girls' by Ellen A. Kelly

Buckamoo Girls by Ellen A. Kelly
illustrated by Tom Curry
Abrams Books for Young Readers, 2006

Buckamoo Girls by Ellen A. Kelley is a picture book for young children that shines as a read-aloud. Large, crisp and brightly-colored illustrations by Tom Curry take up half to two-thirds of each two page spread, and Kelley's story of two cows who want to be cowgirls is written in brief poetic phrases: “Two cows-out back,-spotted brown-spotted black.-Cud-munchin'-musey moos-dream of bein'-buckaroos.

The text brings the images to life as the two cows adventure through the west, overcoming obstacles such as cactus, rivers, tumbleweeds, and rainstorms. They rest for a spin at the hoe-down, visit the rodeo, and end their day with food, song, and a pillow fight by the campfire.

The experience of reading this book silently to myself didn't come close to the excitement that it generated when read aloud to a class of first-graders. The children thought it was funny to see cows riding horses and enjoyed the campfire song at the end. I wondered if young children would be able to understand some of the western lingo (e.g. “Snortin' bull,-sharp horn.-Bucked off,-britches torn.”), but with pictures to help elucidate the text, one child specifically mentioned that it was funny when the cow's pants were torn!

On the whole, this book is a rollicking read-aloud that young children are sure to enjoy.
_____________________________________________________________

Ellen A. Kelley, author and poet, lives with her husband, John, in California and Northern New Mexico, where she often dreams of being a Buckamoo Girl. Her first children's book, The Lucky Lizard, was called “hilarious” (School Library Journal) and “delightful” (Children's Literature).

Tom Curry is a painter and award-winning illustrator who lives in west Texas near Big Bend National Park. He has illustrated six children's books, including The Bootmaker and The Elves by Susan Lowell, an IRA Children's Choice, a Bulletin Blue Ribbon Book, and an American Bookseller Pick of the Lists. His paintings, mostly of stylized and humorous western scenes, are in collections in the United States and abroad. For more information about Tom, visit his Web site at www.tomcurrystudio.com.
_______________________________________________________________

Renée Vaillancourt McGrath has worked at Montana Public Radio as a program host since 2002. Her background is in librarianship and she currently works as a freelance editor and website designer and developer. Check out more of her book reviews at reneesreads.com.

Monday Poem: "November, The Storytelling Month" -- by Jennifer Greene

This time of year, we wait for snow upon
the ground before we bring our stories out.
With open hearts, we listen well. The dawn
brings frost, and night are cold. Stay in, not out.

November's called the storytelling month.
It's time to be inside, to listen now
and understand the land. Enjoy this month
and learn Coyote stories. Learn just how

important, wise and good these stories are.
Perhaps you'll hear them at the longhouse, or
a grandma, grandpa telling them. We are
the stories we tell. Hear and learn some more

about your beauty, worth, this place where you
belong. Your stories matter. So do you.

*      *      *      *      *

"November, The Storytelling Month" was published in Huckleberries, Buttercups, and Celebrations, written by Jennifer Greene and illustrated by Antoine Sandoval. Greene's sonnets portray the cycles of a year that blend past and present seasons on the Flathead Indian Reservation. A Salish and Diné artist, Sandoval creates images that teach and celebrate a living culture.