Listening to N. Scott Momaday’s deep, rumbling voice is the perfect way to experience his beautiful, accessible poetry. Throughout, he reflects on his Kiowa heritage, humanity’s relationship to nature, and the power of language, narrating in a resonant voice, both powerful and familiar. His diction is exacting, making every word shine, but his narration is never distant; he speaks like a beloved elder, with both reverence and playfulness. The audiobook contains three sections. In the first, a series of formal poems, often rhyming, explores nature, aging, travel, and history. The second section is a series of beautiful haikus—keen observations of ordinary moments. The third section features the titular poem, in which Momaday celebrates the life of Sitting Bear, an honored Kiowa warrior. L.S. © AudioFile 2020, Portland, Maine

These are the poems of a master poet, born of an age when our ears were not so bent towards digital production. Or should I say, these are the poems of a bear who has walked through several generations and stands before us, breathing clouds into a cold dawn, bearing this book of poetry. The bear’s journey is mythic, a migration through tragedy and beauty, over lands rich with horses and stories. When you read these poems, you will learn to hear deeply the sound a soul makes as it sings about the mystery of dreaming and becoming.” — Joy Harjo, Mvskoke Nation, U.S. Poet Laureate

"An admirable capstone to a distinguished literary career, this splendid selection should be a treasure for Momaday’s readers and an excellent introduction for those new to Native American writing." — Library Journal (starred review)

“Firmly steeped in Kiowa heritage and indigenous oral storytelling traditions, Momaday breathes in the spirit of the Southwest and breathes out masterful imagery onto the page. The poems beg to be read aloud in order to savor the taste of the language, each word carefully chosen to evoke shape, sound, sight, feeling and history with the weight of its intention. . . . This incredibly personal collection of poems presents deep reflections on the natural world, indigenous history and the nature of humans, animals and God.” — Shelf Awareness (starred review)

"[A] generous collection . . . . each poem reflects a lifetime of writing across the intersections of history, identity, and language. This accessible compendium allows readers to savor the life's work of an unparalleled poet." — Booklist

"A gem of a collection. . . . Soulful, heartfelt, beautifully constructed, and technically brilliant, this is a book written by one of our most important and unique voices." — Fjords

"The single best collection of works from a master of Native letters." — TCJ Student Magazine

Firmly steeped in Kiowa heritage and indigenous oral storytelling traditions, Momaday breathes in the spirit of the Southwest and breathes out masterful imagery onto the page. The poems beg to be read aloud in order to savor the taste of the language, each word carefully chosen to evoke shape, sound, sight, feeling and history with the weight of its intention. . . . This incredibly personal collection of poems presents deep reflections on the natural world, indigenous history and the nature of humans, animals and God.

"A gem of a collection. . . . Soulful, heartfelt, beautifully constructed, and technically brilliant, this is a book written by one of our most important and unique voices."

"[A] generous collection . . . . each poem reflects a lifetime of writing across the intersections of history, identity, and language. This accessible compendium allows readers to savor the life's work of an unparalleled poet."

"The single best collection of works from a master of Native letters."

These are the poems of a master poet, born of an age when our ears were not so bent towards digital production. Or should I say, these are the poems of a bear who has walked through several generations and stands before us, breathing clouds into a cold dawn, bearing this book of poetry. The bear’s journey is mythic, a migration through tragedy and beauty, over lands rich with horses and stories. When you read these poems, you will learn to hear deeply the sound a soul makes as it sings about the mystery of dreaming and becoming.

"[A] generous collection . . . . each poem reflects a lifetime of writing across the intersections of history, identity, and language. This accessible compendium allows readers to savor the life's work of an unparalleled poet."

"A gem of a collection. . . . Soulful, heartfelt, beautifully constructed, and technically brilliant, this is a book written by one of our most important and unique voices."

★ 01/01/2020

This volume of new and selected poems arrives as Momaday approaches his 86th year, and, as such, ought to be treated as a summation of his work in poetic form. Momaday's Pulitzer Prize-winning novel, House Made of Dawn (1968), ushered Native American literature into the American literary consciousness, and Momaday has remained a crucial voice and presence since. As the poet says in the preface, his early work reflects Kiowa oral tradition, but he has absorbed numerous influences, including Emily Dickinson, Yvor Winters, and Thom Gunn, and the fruit is seen in this immensely varied collection—including prose poems, haiku, free lyric, epigram, and unrhymed iambic pentameter. Witness the eloquence of "The Dragon of Saint-Bertrand-de-Comminges" ("Now pastoral the military ruin;/ The haze of the valley is sweet-scented.") The poetic tribute to Kiowa chief Sitting Bear ideally reconciles Momaday's heritage with his elegance in iambic hexameter. VERDICT An admirable capstone to a distinguished literary career, this splendid selection should be a treasure for Momaday's readers and an excellent introduction for those new to Native American writing. —Graham Christian, formerly with Andover-Harvard Theological Lib., Cambridge, MA

Listening to N. Scott Momaday’s deep, rumbling voice is the perfect way to experience his beautiful, accessible poetry. Throughout, he reflects on his Kiowa heritage, humanity’s relationship to nature, and the power of language, narrating in a resonant voice, both powerful and familiar. His diction is exacting, making every word shine, but his narration is never distant; he speaks like a beloved elder, with both reverence and playfulness. The audiobook contains three sections. In the first, a series of formal poems, often rhyming, explores nature, aging, travel, and history. The second section is a series of beautiful haikus—keen observations of ordinary moments. The third section features the titular poem, in which Momaday celebrates the life of Sitting Bear, an honored Kiowa warrior. L.S. © AudioFile 2020, Portland, Maine