Synopses & Reviews
Two-Spirit people, identified by many different tribally specific names and standings within their communities, have been living, loving, and creating art since time immemorial. It wasnt until the 1970s, however, that contemporary queer Native literature gained any public notice. Even now, only a handful of books address it specifically, most notably the 1988 collection
Living the Spirit: A Gay American Indian Anthology. Since that books publication twenty-three years ago, there has not been another collection published that focuses explicitly on the writing and art of Indigenous Two-Spirit and Queer people.
This landmark collection strives to reflect the complexity of identities within Native Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer, and Two-Spirit (GLBTQ2) communities. Gathering together the work of established writers and talented new voices, this anthology spans genres (fiction, nonfiction, poetry, and essay) and themes (memory, history, sexuality, indigeneity, friendship, family, love, and loss) and represents a watershed moment in Native American and Indigenous literatures, Queer studies, and the intersections between the two.
Collaboratively, the pieces in Sovereign Erotics demonstrate not only the radical diversity among the voices of todays Indigenous GLBTQ2 writers but also the beauty, strength, and resilience of Indigenous GLBTQ2 people in the twenty-first century.
Contributors: Indira Allegra, Louise Esme Cruz, Paula Gunn Allen, Qwo-Li Driskill, Laura Furlan, Janice Gould, Carrie House, Daniel Heath Justice, Maurice Kenny, Michael Koby, M. Carmen Lane, Jaynie Lara, Chip Livingston, Luna Maia, Janet McAdams, Deborah Miranda, Daniel David Moses, D. M. OBrien, Malea Powell, Cheryl Savageau, Kim Shuck, Sarah Tsigeyu Sharp, James Thomas Stevens, Dan Taulapapa McMullin, William Raymond Taylor, Joel Waters, and Craig Womack
Review
"At turns angry and wounded, sexy and joyous, hopeful and wistful, this outstanding anthology belongs on the shelves of all readers interested in contemporary American Indian writing and American LGBTQ topics." -
Publishers Weekly"Sovereign Erotics serves as a critical horizon for young readers trying to imagine better lives in the here and now."—Western American Literature
Review
"There's such a wide range of authors, styles, and content here, with so many new ideas and histories, that I found myself rereading sections of it over and over again." -Bibary Book Lust
Review
"…an important achievement that other identity-based collections often dont quite reach." -About.com
Review
and#8220;Anyone with any interest in American Indian literature or indigenous literature of any kind will treasure this innovative book. Siobhan Senier and her learned contributors show us a New England and an America that have been here all along without most Americans suspecting it.and#8221;and#8212;Robert Dale Parker, author of
The Invention of Native American Literatureand#160;
Review
and#8220;Dawnland Voices is a collection of writing that is as bright as the morning sun. Itand#8217;s an amazingly comprehensive collection of the literary work of dozens of indigenous authors from an often overlooked part of Native America, the long-embattled Northeast. . . . The reading public needs to be awakened to the continued existence and the cultural heritage of our peoples, as well as the literary excellence of our many authors. No book that I know of does a better job of that than this brilliantly edited anthology.and#8221;and#8212;Joseph Bruchac, author of Our Stories Remember
Review
"David Moore has spent his career studying Native American literature; That Dream Shall Have a Name distills many years of teaching, reading, and thinking. A signal contribution to Native American scholarship, it shines with wisdom, poignancy, and hope."—O. Alan Weltzien, Western American Literature
Review
andquot;[Dawnland Voices is] a significant contribution to Native American and indigenous studies and to US literature.andquot;andmdash;S. K. Bernardin, CHOICE
Synopsis
This landmark collection strives to reflect the complexity of identities within Native Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer, and Two-Spirit (GLBTQ2) communities. Gathering together the work of established writers and talented new voices, this anthology spans genres (fiction, nonfiction, poetry, and essay) and themes (memory, history, sexuality, indigeneity, friendship, family, love, and loss) and represents a watershed moment in Native American and Indigenous literatures, Queer studies, and the intersections between the two.
Synopsis
Dawnland Voices calls attention to the little-known but extraordinarily rich literary traditions of New Englandand#8217;s Native Americans. This pathbreaking anthology includes both classic and contemporary literary works from ten New England indigenous nations: the Abenaki, Maliseet, Miand#8217;kmaq, Mohegan, Narragansett, Nipmuc, Passamaquoddy, Penobscot,and#160;Schaghticoke, and Wampanoag.
and#160;Through literary collaboration and recovery, Siobhan Senier and Native tribal historians and scholars have crafted a unique volume covering a variety of genres and historical periods. From the earliest petroglyphs and petitions to contemporary stories and hip-hop poetry, this volume highlights the diversity and strength of New England Native literary traditions. Dawnland Voices introduces readers to the compelling and unique literary heritage in New England, banishing the misconception that and#8220;realand#8221; Indians and their traditions vanished from that region centuries ago.
and#160;
Synopsis
The founding idea of “America” has been based largely on the expected sweeping away of Native Americans to make room for EuroAmericans and their cultures. In this authoritative study, David L. Moore examines the works of five well-known Native American writers and their efforts, beginning in the colonial period, to redefine an “America” and “American identity” that includes Native Americans.
That Dream Shall Have a Name focuses on the writing of Pequot Methodist minister William Apess in the 1830s; on Northern Paiute activist Sarah Winnemucca in the 1880s; on Salish/Métis novelist, historian, and activist DArcy McNickle in the 1930s; and on Laguna poet and novelist Leslie Marmon Silko and on Spokane poet, novelist, humorist, and filmmaker Sherman Alexie, both in the latter twentieth and early twenty-first centuries.
Moore studies these five writers stories about the conflicted topics of sovereignty, community, identity, and authenticity—always tinged with irony and often with humor. He shows how Native Americans have tried from the beginning to shape an American narrative closer to its own ideals, one that does not include the death and destruction of their peoples. This compelling work offers keen insights into the relationships between Native and American identity and politics in a way that is both accessible to newcomers and compelling to those already familiar with these fields of study.
About the Author
Qwo-Li Driskill is a Cherokee Queer/Two-Spirit writer, scholar, and performer. S/he is the author of Walking with Ghosts: Poems and is currently and assistant professor in the Department of English at Texas A&M University. Daniel Heath Justice (Cherokee Nation) teaches Aboriginal literatures and Aboriginal Studies at the University of Toronto. In addition to numerous publications in Native literary criticism, he is the author of Our Fire Survives the Storm: A Cherokee Literary History and The Way of Thorn and Thunder: The Kynship Chronicles. Deborah Miranda is a Two-Spirit Ohlone-Costanoan Esselen Nation/Chumash poet and scholar and is currently an associate professor of English at Washington and Lee University in Lexington, Virginia. She is the author of The Zen of La Llorona and Indian Cartography. Lisa Tatonetti is an associate professor of English and American Ethnic Studies at Kansas State University where she studies, teaches, and publishes on Two-Spirit literatures.