4 out of 5 stars
The oppressed are sadly not given the chance to speak and say things in their own way, but that is beginning to change. On of those who is taking the opportunity to speak on behalf of Latinx, black and brown and other indigenous women is Natalie Díaz.
Her poems are about the things that matter to her, the landscapes that define and nourish her tribe but also of the pain that that nation suffers in trying to rise again. It is a metaphorical and actual pain that she writes about here too, the pain of suffering the loss of their land and the pain suffered by their bodies whilst being persecuted. Her strong and deeply rooted native America culture flows through words like a river. It is the struggle against the subjection where she draws her power from. Being a Mojave and gay have been held against her, and she has to fight back against the overwhelming odds that want to see her become a footnote in American history
What is a page if not a lingering, an opaque
Waiting — to be marked , and written?
There are some powerful poems in this collection, poems that probe the future that we might make as well as mourning for past mistakes. I really liked her way with words; a simple verse can evoke such emotion for a place that I have never seen. Great stuff.
Three Favourite Poems
The First Water Is The Body
Wolf OR-7
That Which Cannot Be Stilled
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