Customer Reviews

Original Fire: Selected and New Poems

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I've read and enjoyed all of Erdrich's fiction and was eager to experience her poetry when I got this book. I was not disappointed in the least.

Her poems are rich, full of life, sparkling chunks of wisdom from a woman's life. My favorite poem was "Advice to Myself" in the chapter entitled "Original Fire". She captures the ephemeral nature of life so beautifully and eloquently. If you only purchase one book of poetry this year, make it this one!!

Is it heresy to suggest that Louise Erdrich is a great story teller, in at least two ancient traditions (Native American, Roman Catholic liturgy), and not necessarily a poet? I became aware of her poetical work on Bill Moyers's last shows a month or so ago. They had an intense, engrossing, and very hopeful discussion centered on her poem, "Advice to Myself." I was amazed at the balance, the sanity of the conversation. Essentially: yes, we know the world at large and in particular is going to hell in a hand basket and the most anyone can do, world-wise, is to push back on the flood of insanity. But, the most powerful and personal thing we can do is to refuse to surrender to despair. The strength of character in these stories grows for that amazing place. True to both traditions, they're doggedly NOT about the teller, they're about the tale. Beautiful, evocative writing. And what happens when she converts the Desiderata from second person advice to first person? "Advice to Myself": ... Let the wind have its way, then the earth / that invades as dust and then the dead / foaming up in gray rolls under the couch. / Talk to them. Tell them they are welcome. ... And regarding the heresy? In Huckleberry Finn's immortal words, "I'll go to hell."

Original Fire is Louise Erdrich's third volume of poetry to be published. She is best known as an award winning novelist (Love Medicine, The Last Report on the Miracles at Little No Horse), but is also an accomplished poet. This collection is not a completely original volume, however. It takes quite a few poems from her previous two volumes (Jacklight, Baptism of Desire) as well as some poems that have never before been published.

I'm not a huge fan of poetry, but since Louise Erdrich is my favorite author I'm willing to read the book. I enjoyed the poetry, but it didn't inspire me or speak to me or any of the other things that poetry is supposed to do. The best section of the book was the prose poems from Jacklight (I believe). The stories were interesting, funny, and made me want to keep reading. I'm not as knowledgeable about poetry as I am about other forms of literature, so I find it difficult to say it is good or bad poetry, but I would suggest that it is good. I enjoyed reading this collection, but I do feel that it is a less work compared to her novels.