From the Belly of My Beauty (Sun Tracks) [Paperback]

Esther Belin (Author)

Book Description

Series: Sun Tracks | Publication Date: August 1, 1999

If it can be said that Native culture is hidden behind the facade of mainstream America, there is a facet of that culture hidden even to many Native Americans. One of today's generation of outstanding Native writers, Esther Belin is an urban Indian. Raised in the city, she speaks with an entirely different voice from that of her reservation kindred as she expresses herself on subjects of urban alienation, racism, sexism, substance abuse, and cultural estrangement. In this bold new collection of poems, Belin presents a startling vision of urban California—particularly Los Angeles—contrasted with Navajo life in the Four Corners region. She presents aspects of Din, life and history not normally seen by readers accustomed to accounts written by Navajos brought up on the reservation. Her work reveals a difference in experience but a similarity in outlook. Belin's poems put familiar cultural forms in a new context, as Coyote "struts down east 14th / feeling good / looking good / feeling the brown." Her character Ruby dramatizes the gritty reality of a Native woman's life ("I laugh / sit / smoke a Virginia Slim / and talk to the spirits"). Her use of Dine language and poignant descriptions of family life will remind some of Joy Harjo's work, but with every turn of the page, readers will know that Belin is making her own mark on Native American literature. From the Belly of My Beauty is also a ceremony of affirmation and renewal for those Native Americans affected by the Federal Indian Relocation Program of the 1950s and '60s, with its attempts to "assimilate" them into the American mainstream. They have survived by remembering who they were and where they came from. And they have survived so that they might bear witness, as Esther Belin so powerfully does. Belin holds American culture accountable for failing to treat its indigenous peoples with respect, but speaks for the ability of Native culture to survive and provide hope, even for mixed-blood or urban Indians. She is living proof that Native culture thrives wherever its people are found.

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

This book of compassionate, forthright poetry (and a moving autobiographical essay) tries to come to terms with conflicts between the tribal Navajo reservation ("the rez") and "the place some call the United States." Evoking her grandparents' bond with "the painted desert's magic" and the ordeal of her parents' relocation from reservation to boarding school, Belin provides graphic descriptions of the "wounds" one endures remaining true to a "native lifestyle." Born in Gallup, NM, and educated at the University of California at Berkeley, she found herself transformed by her return to the reservation, opening "a hope chest treasured with stories" when she enrolled at the Institute of American Indian Arts in Santa Fe. Despite the tension between primitive "Third World belly" and "Euro-American" culture, Belin rejects bitterness at "minority status" even as she documents the courage it takes to find "the voices of our nations, our clan relations, our families." Her conclusion is upbeat: "The hunger in my writing feeds from my journey homeward." For larger poetry collections.AFrank Allen, Northampton Community Coll., Tannersville, PA
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Review

Winner of the American Book Award" "Belin provides graphic descriptions of the 'wounds' one endures remaining true to a 'native lifestyle' " —Library Journal

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 104 pages
• Publisher: University of Arizona Press (August 1, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0816519544
• ISBN-13: 978-0816519545
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6.1 x 0.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 6.7 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,585,393 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The spirit of the Dine is Alive and Well with Esther's work, February 4, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: From the Belly of My Beauty (Sun Tracks) (Paperback)

Browsing the Native American Literature section of my school's bookstore (NAU-Flagstaff), I came upon Esther's book and almost jumped outta my pants! Esther and I are alumni of the Institute of American Indian Arts in Santa Fe, and I am familiar with her FABULOUS way of "painting with words," and I have always thought highly of her work. Over the years I've always looked for her name among the circle of Native writers because she writes with such passion and human truth as experienced first hand by natives at the dawn of a new millennium. It is easy for me, as an acquiantance of Esther's, to view her work and relate the themes and subjects of her poems directly to her personality. It is so wonderful to read what she has produced in "FROM THE BELLY OF MY BEAUTY." Any avid reader of Native/Indigenous literature is definitely in for a treat, so sit back and get ready to laugh, cry and understand.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Finally, a Native (Navajo) voice that is heard!, April 13, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: From the Belly of My Beauty (Sun Tracks) (Paperback)

An outstanding piece of work! It surprised me when I first read the contents...a Navajo? Yes, a Native woman writing about her city life and at times, focusing on her roots....the traditional way of life. Yet her words are dramatic and powerful. A great accomplishment!