Dirt Road Home (Paperback)

~ (Author)

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

Savageau is of Abenaki Indian and French Acadian ancestry, and her poems explore the multistranded tensions of growing up poor in a family of mixed heritage. From her father, the poet inherited a love of nature, especially the primeval landscape of New England, which has been all but erased by industrial blight and urbanization. Her poems about birds, trees, and landscapes sing with a sensuous appreciation of the natural world. Other poems pay affectionate tribute to members of Savageau's extended family, who, though burdened by poverty and ethnicity, survive, for the most part, with spirit and dignity. Savageau has a storyteller's gift and an imagist's eye; her language is clean and sure: "my mother, red-haired,/who lived with my father/forty years.../watches the feathered dancers/and says, so that's/what real Indians look like./I wrap the shawl around my shoulders,/and join the circle." The hard truths out of which these poems spring are tempered by a magnanimous spirit and an acceptance of life's complexities. Recommended for contemporary poetry collections.?Christine Stenstrom, Brooklyn P.L.
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Review

After Hours
After Listening To A Reading Of Romantic Poems
All Night She Dreams
At Fifteen Louise Kills Chickens
At The A & W
At The Fireworks
At The Pow Wow
Barbie
Blessings
Bones -- A City Poem
Bride
Card Shark
Comes Down Like Milk
Creche
Department Of Labor Haiku
Equinox: The Goldfinch
First Grade -- Standing In The Hall
French Girls Are Fast
Genealogy
Gifts
Glissandos
Grandmother
Hanging Clothes In The Sun
Harsh Words
Henri Toussaints
Infant Of Prague
Just His Eyes
Leah
Like A Good Joke: Grandma At Ninety
Like The Trails Of Ndakinna
Logic Problem
Looking For Indians
Medicine Woman
Menora
Mother Night: Full Moon Past Solstice
Night
Ol' Crazy Baker
Roseanna
The Sound Of My Mother Singing
Summer Solstice
Survival
The Sweet And Vinegary Taste
Thorns
To Human Skin
Too'kay
Trees
Trickery: A May Poem
What I Save
What The Boy Said
Why They Do It
-- Table of Poems from Poem Finder®

French/Canadian/Native poet Cheryl Savageau's poems tell of poverty, mixed ancestry and alliances, and strong family ties in a sweep of visions which trace both the progress of her life and influences and those of her family and friends. Lyrical, personal free verse. -- Midwest Book Review

Product Details

• Paperback: 78 pages
• Publisher: Curbstone Press; 1st edition (July 1, 1995)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1880684306
• ISBN-13: 978-1880684306
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 5.4 x 0.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 5.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #1,705,863 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars REVIEW QUOTES, September 14, 2001

By	Curbstone Press, Jantje Tielken, Editorial As... - See all my reviews

Cheryl Savageau writes of poverty, mixed ancestry, nature, and family in poems that are simultaneously tough and tender, and salted with a rich folk humor from her Abenaki and French Canadian ancestry.

"Engaging, emotionally open and honest, and, most importantly, interesting, the poems in this collection are the words of a woman who means to speak her mind." --Sojourner Magazine

"Savageau carries forth the poetic pulse of Merrill..." --Indianapolis News

"DIRT ROAD HOME is a collection of rich and refreshing voices; it provides connections for the unconnected, stories that are untold, and bridges between dual worlds. In a world of mixed-bloods, multi-identities, and multi-experiences, Savageau speaks as an individual of this varied world." --North Dakota Quarterly