As Walt Whitman was writing about Manifest Destiny, and Arthur Rimbaud in France was describing his deliriums, the gold rush on Deadwood Creek in the Black Hills of South Dakota was exploding into an instant city of 10,000. But these hardy gold-seekers refused to acknowledge that they were invading the sacred heart of the Sioux reservation.
Dakota poet Gary David's long poem seeks the roots of this confrontation in an apocalyptic play of events. This beautifully written montage echoes the work of Charles Olson and Ed Dorn, filled with Black Hills history and spirit.
Gary A. David has been intrigued by the Four Corners region of the United States for nearly twenty-five years. In 1994 he moved to Arizona and began an intensive study of the ancestral Pueblo People and their descendants the Hopi.
In late 2006, after more than a decade of independent research and investigation of archaeological ruins and rock art, his book The Orion Zone: Ancient Star Cities of the American Southwest was published by Adventures Unlimited Press. The 2008 sequel is titled Eye of the Phoenix: Mysterious Visions and Secrets of the American Southwest. The third book in the series, The Kivas of Heaven: Ancient Hopi Starlore, was published in late 2010. Autographed copies of the books can be obtained from www.theorionzone.com.
Mr. David's articles have appeared in Fate, World Explorer, UFO, Atlantis Rising, and Ancient American magazines, and in Graham Hancock's anthology Lost Knowledge of the Ancients. Translations of Gary's work have appeared in Erich von Däniken's magazine Zagenhafte Zeiten and on the website www.antiguosastronautas.com. His writing was also featured on recent History Channel episodes of "Decoded" and "Ancient Aliens." Gary continues to give lectures and international radio interviews.
Gary has a Master of Arts degree in English literature and creative writing from the University of Colorado and is a former college adjunct professor. He is also a poet and a professional guitarist/vocalist.
