Thank you.
It's an honor.
Yes, I prepared a few words.
So, my first encounter with the Norton Anthology
was in high school, honors English.
Where the TA for the class gifted me his copy
of Post-modern American Poetry.
Which lacked, as many other anthologies have,
any voice from Native nations.
It would take some digging on my part,
and a University Native literature course
to expose me to the ancestor and relative anthologies
already in print.
Ancestor and relative anthologies,
terms that Poet Laureate Joy Harjo uses in the introduction
to "When the Light of the World Was Subdued,
Our Songs Came Through."
A beautiful and sublime title for
this paramount and necessary anthology.
Like its ancestor and relative anthologies,
terms I will wholeheartedly use and embrace
in my pedagogy, this gathering of voices
from the Native nations of the US
exemplifies and amplifies our stories, histories and presence
in the landscape and imagination of contemporary culture.
As Indigenous peoples, we've persevered
through many instances of darkness and annihilation,
but we've never stopped singing, telling story, or harnessing
the strength of our voices.
The brilliant writers and editors
of this anthology, Joy Harjo, LeAnne Howe, and Jennifer Elise
Foerster, as well as the contributing editor relatives,
deserve nothing less than our admiration, respect,
and deep appreciation for the continuance of light.
It is with humility and honor that I
am able to introduce: "When the Light of the World
Was Subdued, Our Songs Came Through," an anthology
of Native Nations poetry.