Synopses & Reviews
Five decades of work are reflected in this expansive collection. Beginning with Kenny’s earliest work and continuing with poems from his next eighteen books, many long out of print, the book follows the career of this renowned Native American writer. Also included are thirty new and uncollected poems.
Maurice Kenny is visiting professor at the State University of New York at Potsdam. He lives in Saranac Lake in New York State’s Adirondack Mountains. His most recent books, both from the University of Michigan Press, are Tortured Skins and Other Fictions and In the Time of the Present.
Also Available by Maurice Kenny
Backward to Forward
TP $14.00, 1-877727-69-5 o CUSA
Rain and Other Fictions
TP $8.00, 0-934834-98-0
Synopsis
An expansive selection of work by a celebrated Native American writer and American Book Award winner.
Synopsis
Poetry. Five decades of work are reflected in this expansive collection. Beginning with Kenny's earliest work, continuing with selections from his next eighteen books, and concluding with thirty new poems, the book follows the career of this renowned Native American writer. "These are magnificent. What I'm struck with most is this: memory becomes much more than lament. It becomes a living celebration" --Alan Steinberg. SPD has carried Kenny's works, such as BACKWARD TO FORWARD and STORIES FOR A WINTER'S NIGHT, for years. "The evening river carries no sound.../ not the bark of this fox whose skull/ weights my hand,/ not the wind of this hawk/ feather tucked into the buttonhole of my shirt" --from "Black River".
About the Author
Maurice Kenny is a Mohawk poet. Maurice Kenny was born in Watertown, NY in 1929. His father is Mohawk from Canada, his mother was born in upstate New York. The family spent time living both on and off the nearby reservation. Kenny's father was a stern man, given to rough treatment of his son and at 16 Maurice ran away from home. He lived in New York City for a brief period before returning home. Maurice Kenny lives between Saranac Lake, and Potsdam. He occasionally teaches at North Country Community College, but currently is assigned courses at SUNY Potsdam.