Authors, T-Y

Luci Tapahonso

Luci Tapahonso, 1950- .
Seasonal Woman. Santa Fe: Tooth of Time Books, 1982.
Limited Edition of 750 Copies. Drawings by R.C. Gorman.
Call Number: (SPL) PS 3570 .A567 S4 1982

Navajo Luci Tapahonso writes poetry which draws its beauty and humor from the commonplace ecstasies of ordinary human experience. Intermingled with these humanist themes are the forceful images of a racist society which has subjected her Navajo culture to economic, political and social injustices. Tapahonso’s straightforward style has a tremendous impact in bringing to light the oppression of America’s native peoples.

Special Collections, Golda Meir Library

Click here for a list of all works by this author in the Golda Meir Library.

Gerald Robert Vizenor

Gerald Robert Vizenor, 1934- .
Darkness in St. Louis Bearheart. Saint Paul: Truck Press, 1978.
Call Number: (SPL) PS 3572 .I9 D37x 1978

Special Collections, Golda Meir Library

Gerald Robert Vizenor, 1934- .
Dead Voices: Natural Agonies in the New World. Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, 1992.
Call Number: PS 3572 .I9 D43 199

General Collection, Golda Meir Library

Chippewa writer Vizenor’s family moved to Minneapolis from the White Earth Reservaiton before he was born. Vizenor had a troubled and violent childhood; his father was murdered, his uncle and stepfather also died violent deaths, and his mother often left him for long periods of time. Not surprisingly, melancholy and violence are important themes in his works. Vizenor’s breakthrough as a writer came in 1978 with the publication of Darkness in St. Louis Bearheart, his first trickster novel.

Vizenor is the most overtly "post-modern" of the contemporary Native American writers of fiction: his stories and novels tend to be experimental in form, with much self-reference and reflection. He draws heavily on traditional myths and tales, and thus traditional values, placing them in a contemporary context in which they seem dislocated and alien. There, they become tools for transcending the process of victimization as well as confronting the larger crises of contemporary urban, technological society. Vizenor teaches literature at the University of California, Berkeley.

Click here for a list of all works by and about this author in the Golda Meir Library.

Roberta Hill Whiteman

Roberta Hill Whiteman, 1947- .
Star Quilt: Poems. Minneapolis: Holy Cow! Press, 1984.
Foreword by Carolyn Forche; Illustrations by Ernest Whiteman.
Call Number: (SPL) PS 3573 .H484x S7 1984

A member of the Oneida tribe of Wisconsin, Roberta Hill Whiteman grew up near Green Bay and Oneida, where her grandmother’s storytelling was a strong influence. Whiteman majored in creative writing and psychology at the University of Wisconsin at Madison, then studied creative writing with Richard Hugo at the University of Montana. Her work has appeared in most anthologies of American Indian poetry and in other literary journals and anthologies.

Roberta Hill Whiteman, 1947- .
Your Fierce Resistance. Minneapolis: Minnesota Center for Book Arts, 1993.
Number 124 in a Limited Edition; Signed by the Author.
Call Number: (SPL) PS 3573 .H4875 Y68x 1993

This collection of poetry is an MCBA Chapbook printed in conjunction with The Loft’s Inroads: Writers of Color series. It was printed in an edition of 150 copies by Robert Johnson and Gaylord Schanilec with Bembo type on Mohawk Superfine paper with Fabriano Italia endsheets and Moriki over Arches cover.

Special Collections, Golda Meir Library

Click here for a list of all works by this author in the Golda Meir Library.

Ray A. Young Bear

Ray A. Young Bear, 1950- .
Black Eagle Child: The Face Paint Narratives. Iowa City: University of Iowa Press, 1992.
Author's Signed Presentation Copy to the Golda Meir Library.
Call Number: (SPL) E 99 .F7 Y688 1992

A Native American author of Sauk and Mesquakie descent, Ray A. Young Bear was born in Marshalltown, Iowa in 1950. His first work in 1966 echos woodland tribal traditions, confirming the beliefs and voicings of his ancestors. Young Bear remains successful with his primitivist style, making his writing seem timeless. Ray Young Bear is also founder of the Woodland Song and Dance Troupe of Arts Midwest.

General Collection, Golda Meir Library

Click here for a list of all works by this author in the Golda Meir Library.