"This is a list filled with books that highlight reclamation, identity, sexuality, climate, and white supremacy (to only name a few) via oral storytelling, art, music, poetry, and interview (to only name a few)."
"On this list, you’ll find entities and shapeshifters, cosmology and mythology, social commentary and superstition, doomsday preppers and imposters."
"This year, I was struck by how many of the books are debuts, and how many of them manage to masterfully walk that tightrope line of tone — they’re often hilarious and moving in equal measure, while interrogating the difficult topics of colonialism, white supremacy, generational trauma, and cycles of addiction, displacement, and dispossession (just to name a few)."
"It wasn’t until I started publishing some stories that I knew I was writer, not because of the publishing necessarily, but because the publishing allowed me to see the two sides of writing: the act of creation versus the business side. I’m drawn so much more the former, and it’s there that I knew I was a writer."
"Despite the diversity of these books, they all share a common purpose: honoring the past while asking difficult questions about the present."
"I was not doomed to merely exist as a reaction to childhood trauma; I could heal and create a new life."
"I was concerned about a failing system and what goes through the minds of youth who feel unwanted."
"I joke that I have Land Acknowledgement Fatigue (LAF), but there’s a grain of truth."
"I like what a collective voice can do to create a singular vision."
"14 new books that will expand and enrich your understanding of the diverse Native communities in the United States, and introduce you to phenomenal writers whose work is art, activism, and wholly astonishing."
"From humorous essays about death to reflections on Standing Rock, the titles below — while nowhere near a comprehensive survey — offer a taste of the diversity, talent, passion, and importance of contemporary Native writers."
"Another person on Twitter says what I do isn’t poetry. I tweet 'that’s okay. My bank account thinks what I do is poetry hashtag on my way to deposit checks.' I cackle. I delete the Tweet. I’m not actually on my way to deposit checks. I’m in a hotel lobby, writing."