On Native Ground: Memoirs and Impressions (American Indian Literature & Critical Studies) [Hardcover]

Jim Barnes (Author)

Book Description

Series: American Indian Literature & Critical Studies | Publication Date: March 1997

On Native Ground takes us from Jim Barnes’s boyhood in rural southeastern Oklahoma during the Great Depression and World War II through his mature years as an internationally recognized poet. Of Choctaw and Welsh ancestry, Barnes is often identified as a Native American poet. He emphasizes his desire to be recognized for his art, not his blood. Yet he speaks eloquently here of his attachment to his “native ground,” the Choctaw region in Oklahoma—for him “the land where memory dwells.” This edition features a new postscript by the author.

--This text refers to the Paperback edition.

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

From the simplicity of life in rural Oklahoma in the years surrounding World War II to the lyrical beauty of a villa in the Italian countryside, Barnes paints pictures of his life in essays and poetry. Of Welsh and Choctaw heritage, he is an issish ibakaha, a mixed-blood, equally at home in both cultures but refusing to be defined by either. Raised in and around several small towns, he offers recollections of places and events that convey beautifully a sense of history and way of life shared by much of rural America in the Thirties and Forties. The second half of his book focuses on his development as a poet and essayist and submersion in world literature. While nostalgic for a simpler time and place, he is also clearly enervated by and enamored of the writers of Europe and of his teaching. His goal of being recognized for his art rather than his blood is well on its way to being achieved in this memoir.?Lisa A. Mitten, Univ. of Pittsburgh Lib.
Copyright 1997 Reed Business Information, Inc.

About the Author

Jim Barnes is retired as Distinguished Professor of English and Creative Writing at Brigham Young University. He and his wife, Cora Barnes McKown, currently reside in Atoka, Oklahoma, on the McKown family ranch, and in Santa Fe, New Mexico.

--This text refers to the Paperback edition.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 296 pages
• Publisher: University of Oklahoma Press (March 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0806128984
• ISBN-13: 978-0806128986
• Product Dimensions: 8.7 x 5.8 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,076,285 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A superb work of impeccable literary and biographical scholarship, September 15, 2009

By 

Midwest Book Review (Oregon, WI USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: On Native Ground: Memoirs and Impressions (American Indian Literature and Critical Studies Series) (Paperback)

Jim Barnes was appointed the Oklahoma State Poet Laureate for 2009-2011 by Governor Brad henry in recognition and appreciation of his published accomplishments in the field of poetry. "On Native Ground: Memoirs And Impressions" by Jim Barnes (Distinguished Professor of English and Creative Writing, Brigham Young University, Provo, Utah) is an informed and informative biography of Jim Barnes beginning with his boyhood in rural southeaster Oklahoma during the Great Depression and World War II and concludes with a survey of his adult years and acclaim as an internationally recognized Native American poet. Of Welsh and Choctaw ancestry, Barnes is an eloquent word smith. For this University of Oklahoma Press edition, a new postscript has been penned by author and biographer Jim Barnes to bring the reader fully up to date on the life and times of a master American poet. A superb work of impeccable literary and biographical scholarship, "On Native Ground" is especially recommended for academic library American Biography and American Poet reference collections and supplemental reading lists.