Reviews
of Old Shirts & New Skins
Like
the woman who pours her life into a stew of survival,
Sherman Alexie has created a meal, not for a reader
to consume but for a reader to be changed by. These
are poems, raw and lean, that tell another side of history,
the real names of the meanness sometimes called "America."
History is here, now. Survival is being documented,
changes measured.
Linda
Hogan
In
the best tradition of confronting American reality and
exacting vision and meaning from it, Sherman Alexie
chooses to use poetic power. His vision is an amazing
celebration of endurance, intimacy, love, and creative
insight; finally, it is a victory that can be known
only by a people who refuse to submit to the thieves,
liars, and killers that have made them suffer tremendous
loss and pain.
Old
Shirts & New Skins is an honest and painful perception
of contemporary Native American life. In it, Sherman
Alexie, a poet of the Coeur d'Alene people, speaks for
the spirit of Native American resistance, determination,
and sovereignty, compelling us to realize our own need
to confront reality with an honest and inspiring vision.
Simon
J. Ortiz
Table
of Contents
Foreword
INDIAN
EDUCATION
Introduction to Native American Literature
Anthropology
Architecture
Economics of the Tribe
Physical Education
Forestry
Learning to Drown
The Naming of Indian Boys
Geometry
Indian Education
Archaeology
The Possibilities of Agriculture in Idaho
Nature Poem
Sociology
Old and New Testament
Vision (2)
Horses
SONGS
FROM THE FILM
Translated from the American
Custer Speaks
Reservation Graffiti
Postcards to Columbus
Worth Winning
Powwow Polaroid
The Texas Chainsaw Massacre
Aria
Sundays, Too
The Unauthorized Biography of Lester FallsApart
Citizen Kane
The Marlon Brando Memorial Swimming Pool
Hospital Food
Snapping the Fringe
Songs from the Film
Crazy Horse Speaks
DROUGHT
Reservation
Stew
Crisis on Toast
Poem for James Who Asked Me Why Everything Hurts So Much
The 35th Annual Yakima Nation All-Indian Basketball Tournament
Spokane, 1976
Seattle, 1987
Drought
Poem
The Last Indian Bar in Spokane
"Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God"
Letter: A Definition of Love
Rain
Breaking out the Shovel
1979
Red Blues
Indian Summer
Shoes
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