Writers: Both Established and Emerging
Established Up and Coming Writers
In an attempt to help you with your writing, I decided that I'd build a website where we can both learn. Please know that I've had minimal experience with web site building and even then it's been for classes when securing my undergraduate degree. I'm going to open you up to a world of Native Writers who are both established and those who are emerging. There will be a ton of links here when I'm done, which may or may not ever happen, just so you know. When I learn of one I will share the name and my favorite poem by them here. I was fortunate enough to begin school at IAIA in 2002 with some amazing writers, Orlando White, dg nanouk okpik, Jennifer Foerester to name a few. Each of these three has a book that's been published by a press. http://www.orlandowhite.com/O..html http://jenniferfoerster.com/ http://www.dgokpik.com/ Unlike many American males, I always admired writers as much as I admired athletes. I loved books and the people who wrote books. John Steinbeck was one of my earliest heroes because he wrote about the poor. Stephen King became a hero because he wrote so well of misfit kids, the nerds and geeks. Growing up on my reservation, I was a poor geek, so I had obvious reasons to love Steinbeck and King. I still love their novels, but I have no idea if they were/are spiritual, compassionate, and gracious men. There is so much spirit, compassion, and grace in their work, I want to assume that Steinbeck and King were/are good people. I would be terribly disappointed to find out otherwise. . . . |
Emerging Native Writers
But this isn't about them. I'm proud to call these people friends and they've each got their own style of writing, which I'm sure you'll notice. Byron Aspaas, Navajo, fuses poetry and non fiction effortlessly. Cynthia Sylvester, Navajo, who I've introduced you to already has a way of saying things we all want to say but are afraid of saying. http://200newmexicopoems.wordpress.com/category/bryon-aspass/ http://asusjournal.org/2013/09/17/cythnia-sylvester-fiction/ Tanaya Winder A self proclaimed "Girl on Fire" after the Alicia Keys song, she's an adjunct faculty at the UNM in Albuquerque, NM. She's also the youngest Director of Colorado University - Boulder's Upward Bound program. She is also one of three co-founders for the As/Us literary journal. She did this talk in Albuquerque back in August it took some time to get uploaded to YouTube. She and some of her friends shared it enough times to garner my attention. I wasn't able to watch it the first time I looked at it because I didn't have ten minutes. When I did make time to watch it, I cried because I know too well the emotions she's talking about. The link below is to her personal blog. http://tanayawinder.wordpress.com/ |