The River of History: Prose Poems [Paperback]

Gloria Bird (Author)

Product Details

• Paperback: 36 pages
• Publisher: Trask House Books (June 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0932264131
• ISBN-13: 978-0932264138
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #7,971,601 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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4.0 out of 5 stars diversity in a common(?) form, March 27, 2001

By 

M. J. Smith (Seattle, WA USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The River of History: Prose Poems (Paperback)

This chapbook, as a chapbook, is very well done. The drawings by the author's father are well chosen and well placed. The paper and type choices all speak of a book made with respect and craft.

The contents of the book, identified as "prose poems" by the subtitle, are a diverse lot - some nearly essays, some I would title sudden fiction, and a few I would identify as prose poems. Examples of the "prose poems" included in this book:

"Imposters Among the Ranks" is a delightful satire on a 1990 law requiring that "Indian" artists prove their native heritage.

"The Graverobbers and the Oldest Word" is a perceptive 'myth' of the clash between the Old Lexicon (based in nature and the recognition of the sacred in nature) and the New Lexicon of metallic beings. This with gentle humor exposes the emptiness of the dominate culture.

"The Argument of the Cynic" explores the issues surrounding assimilation.

Taken as a whole, the book explores the ethical questions arising from the history of colonial/native relationships - an exploration that recognizes the complexity and refuses to be lulled into simple answers. Most typical of the content, but not necessarily the style, is this quote from "The Argument of the Cynic" - "From the moment they are born, our offspring inherit the legacy of unwritten history, unprocessed grief. In this world, there is no rest for the cynic in whose skeptical glance definitive assurance is the highest form of fiction."