When the Light of the World Was Subdued, Our Songs Came Through: A Norton Anthology of Native Nations Poetry

When the Light of the World Was Subdued, Our Songs Came Through: A Norton Anthology of Native Nations PoetryThis landmark anthology celebrates the indigenous peoples of North America, the first poets of this country, whose literary traditions stretch back centuries. Opening with a blessing from Pulitzer Prize winner N. Scott Momaday, the book contains powerful introductions from contributing editors who represent the five geographically organized sections. Each section begins with a poem from traditional oral literatures and closes with emerging poets,

In this illuminating collection of essays and poems

dried meats

But when the treaty bundle

who was born

Rose has been widely anthologized

From her memory of her mother's death

he charts the vast spaces of prairie and time that often seem indistinguishable

2009 Minnesota Book Awards Winner for Poetry

Harjo grew up learning to dodge an abusive stepfather by finding shelter in her imagination

and their close identification with Indian scholarship makes their invisibility as pioneering founders of this specialized field all the more intriguing

She has a knack for creating humorous and endearing characters

an eminent anthropologist