Although I am not very well read in poetry, I do really love it. One of my brides recently asked me if I had any recommendations for reading during quarantine, and after reflecting for a minute to see if something in particular spoke up to my spirit, Luci Tapahonso was the first thought that came to my mind.
She is the Poet Laureate of the Navajo (Diné) Nation, and I stumbled upon her book “A Radiant Curve” several years ago - I have loved her writing ever since. It has such an honest, intimate, and loving feeling to me, full of gratitude for life and the beauty of both the otherworldly and of the simple, wonderful everyday.
Here is a link of her reciting one of my favorites, and then her explaining it a little bit too :).
Video Link: Ahidziskéii “They are sitting beside each other in a house of beauty.”
Right after she actually recites another one I really like: Náneeskadi (Tortillas)
I love learning more about words and where they come from/the feelings behind them. Plus I love anything that has to do with food too hehe.
I find that reading her poems give me a sense of peace & many also fill me with such wonderful imagery - of nature, of the beautiful desert where she lives, & are a privileged little window view into her life.
Here is the beginning of the linked video, where Kristiana Kahakauwila (one of the fellows at Harvard’s Radcliffe Institute), gives Luci a much more eloquent & wonderful intro than I ever could X).
My husband recently found for me a used copy of “Blue Horses Rush In”, another one of her books, and I so love this one too!
Wishing everyone peace & that we all walk in much beauty today :),
~ e