Indigenous Poetry: Words that Map the Natural World

Celebrate indigenous poetry with these intergenerational poets from different parts of Indian Country, who will share their powerful words that navigate land, memory, music, and more. Diné poet, editor, and playwright Kinsale Drake explores the intricate relationships between Native peoples and the natural world, and her debut collection The Sky Was Once a Dark Blanket oscillates between musical influences and time. Poet Laureate Emerita of Lake County and President of the Mendocino Coast Writers’ Conference Georgina Marie Guardado’s poetry chapbooks, Finding the Roots of Water and Tree Speak, draw inspiration from the natural world and how it witnesses our most emotional and introspective periods of life. Former Kansas Poet Laureate and founding board member of Indigenous Nations Poets Denise Low centers Indigenous peoples’ experience and the intergenerational impacts of the 1782 Gnadenhutten Massacre in House of Grace, House of Blood, a haunting and lyrical reconstruction of an important historical event that challenges the attempted erasure of Indigenous voices. Diné poet and zinester Amber McCrary perceives the enduring bonds between people and place in her debut poetry collection Blue Corn Tongue: Poems in the Mouth of the Desert, which remaps the deserts of Arizona through the blue corn story of a young Diné woman figuring out love and life with an O’odham man. Poet Laureate of El Dorado Stephen Meadows also analyzes place and the natural world in his poetry, and Winter Work paints a beautiful geography of emotions through the lens of natural elements, the damage we inflict upon the land, and our history. Visual artist and Poet Laureate Emerita of San Francisco Kim Shuck will emcee this inspiring poetry reading grounded in understanding, admiration, and deep respect for our natural world.