From Library Journal
Young Bear's elegiac POETRY contains several meanings communal, historical, sacred that taken together depict the consciousness of tribal peoples in modern society. In his fourth book of POETRY (e.g., Winter of the Salamander), Young Bear documents a society in which the real (Lazy-Boy, Wal-Mart bags) and the animistic (Bear-King, Grandmother Earth) coexist as irreconcilable polarities. The intelligent voice of the speaker expresses "mute" and "inaccessible" experiences of an earthy, sensitive people scourged by suffering. Mostly plot-oriented, all of the 23 poems portray "a phantasmagoric union" between "deities" and "old stories" of the Meskwaki Tribal Settlement and the stark natural world of central Iowa. Young Bear describes, in vivid detail, how personal and tribal histories intersect. For instance, one of the poems tells the story of a father and grandfather confronted with isolation in the "tribal homeland" upon returning from World War I battlefields as "decorated heroes." "Self-assessment" centers around the burden of "centuries of misery." Daring and thoughtful, this collection is recommended for all libraries. Frank Allen, Northampton Community Coll., Tannersville, PA
Copyright 2001 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Review
An Act Of Purification, No. 1
American Flag Dress
The Aura Of The Blue Flower That Is A Goddess
The Bread Factory
Crestwood School Of Social Research
Dish Shapes And Remnant Pools
Eagle Feathers In Colour Photocopy
Father Scarmark-world War I Hero-and Democracy
For Lazy-boys, Devoted Pets, Health, And Tribal Homeland Reality
Four Poems For Immediacy
Improvised Sealant For Hissing Wounds
In The Tree's Shadow
January Gifts From The Ground Squirrel Entity
Laramie's Peripheral Vision
The Mask Of Four Indistinguishable Thunderstorms
Moon-like Craters On My Legs
November 12, 1951
Our Bird Aegis
Poems For Dreams And Underwater Portals
The Reptile Decree From Paris
The Rock Island Hiking Club
A Season Of Provocations And Other Ethnic Dreams
Summer Tripe Dreams And Concrete Leaves
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Table of Poems from Poem Finder®
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
