Native Poetry

Thirty years ago, tribal college educator and poet Thomas Davis began writing poems about the tribal college movement, beginning with the founding of College of Menominee Nation in Northern Wisconsin. He had no intention of developing a book out of the poems, using napkins and scraps of papers to create a mostly free verse poetry that chronicled the events and people trying to build a new kind of educational system that would preserve and evolve Indigenous language, history, and culture. Davis gave these poems away and many were lost. Until now.

The Native-Born is Rudyard Kipling in full, booming voice—an ode to homeland, heritage, and the fierce pride of those raised under blazing southern skies. Through vivid imagery and pulsing rhythm, Kipling toasts the people of the far-flung British colonies: the “Sons of the Golden South,” the settlers and workers who carved their lives into vast prairies, tin-roofed towns, and coastlines battered by sun and sea.

An Ojibwe elder once counseled Nerburn to "always teach by stories, because stories lodge deep in the heart.'' Using skills learned from Native storytellers as well as a deep reverence for the world's spiritual traditions, Nerburn takes us to an Ojibwe burial, down lonely winter roads, and into landscapes where trees have presence and the earth is made alive by the mystical power of water and light.

Winner of the 2007 Pulitzer Prize for Poetry Former U.S. Poet Laureate, Natasha Trethewey’s Native Guard is a deeply personal volume that brings together two legacies of the Deep South. Through elegaic verse that honors her mother and tells of her own fraught childhood, Natasha Trethewey...

Margaretta Matilda Odell's 1834 Memoir and Poems of Phillis Wheatley is the only substantive early source on Wheatley's life. Phillis Wheatley (ca. 1753-1784) is considered the first African American poet to write for a transatlantic audience, and her Poems on Various Subjects, Religious and Moral (1773) kindled debates about race.

The text relates the powerful and dramatic history of the Smoky Mountain Cherokees, who for 40,000 years thrived in the difficult terrain of the Great Smoky Mountains and its surrounding regions areas of what is now Kentucky, Ohio, West Virginia, North Carolina, Georgia, and Alabama.

Discover the Soulful Journey of Life Through Poetry "We Should Talk" by acclaimed author Judy Gorham is a captivating collection of poems crafted over a lifetime. Narrated with heartfelt eloquence by Anjali Purohit, each piece weaves together moments of joy, challenges, and the universal threads that connect us all. This audiobook invites listeners to explore a tapestry of memories, emotions, and reflections that resonate with the human experience. Whether it’s a glimpse of your own life or an echo of the world around you, Judy’s poignant words inspire connection and introspection.

The poems in this collection are a testament to Csaba's resilience, humor, and a deep sense of empathy. The author's reflections on life's joys and challenges are both personal and universal, touching on themes such as love, loss, hope, and the beauty of the natural world. The poems are written in a variety of styles, from free verse to haiku, and are infused with Csaba's unique perspective on the world.