Twenty-one leading American Indian poets discuss the role of Native American culture in their work, the forces that shape contemporary Native American poetry, and the prospects of that poetry's surviving as a form apart from the poetry of the dominant culture.

Images from Navajo country are accompanied by prose poems evoking the sacredness of the land.

The weather--portrayed with vivid imagery--dominates this collection, set on the prairies. In Three Days Before Spring, Snow Again, he writes: "Wind is up again, / swirling and pushing around / like it had nowhere to go, / losing and finding things / and losing them again." By the author of Woven Stone.

Native poetry. In Indians, Roxy Gordon writes: "Poetry is an Indian, / journalism ain't and / proper punctuation ain't. / Circles are Indians / and random lines are Indians. / Straight lines ain't ... / Health food stores try / hard to be Indian. / Living is Indian, / expecting to live forever ain't."

A prominent poet presents a collection centering on her experiences growing up in a Tohono O'Odham family, and her profound appreciation for the seasons and desert climate.

Now it is My Turn to Stand. At Acoma Pueblo meetings, members rise and announce their intention to speak. In that moment they are recognized and heard. In Speaking for the Generations, Acoma Pueblo poet Simon Ortiz brings together contemporary Native American writers to take their turn. Each offers an evocation of herself or himself, describing the personal, social, and cultural influences on her or his development as a writer. Although each writer's...