Dragonfly Dance (American Indian Studies) (Paperback)

Dragonfly Dance (American Indian Studies) By Denise K. Lajimodiere Cover Image
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Description


Dragonfly Dance is a collection of poems remarkable for their candor and sense of catharsis. Writing from the vantage point of an American Indian women, Denise Lajimodiere opens a door into the lives of Native girls and women. Her poems often reflect the deep tensions between Native culture and white culture.
     Reflected in Lajimodiere's poems, life is sometimes beautiful but rarely easy. "The Necklace," the narrator details how her mother repaired a favorite beaded necklace, "her arthritic fingers patiently / threading beads / on the long thin needle, weaving / night after night." When the necklace is finally repaired, she wears it to school where

At recess a White boy
ran by, yanked
it off my neck and threw it.
I watched as it ascended
high above the blacktop,
the beads glittered, scattering their light,
a rainbow against gray skies.

     Unadorned, direct, and often raw, these riveting poems sear their way into our imaginations, inviting us into a world we might never have known. We are richer for the knowledge.

About the Author


Denise K. Lajimodiere is a member of the Turtle Mountain Band of Pembina Chippewa. She is an Assistant Professor at North Dakota State University.

Product Details
ISBN: 9780870139826
ISBN-10: 0870139827
Publisher: Michigan State University Press
Publication Date: December 1st, 2010
Pages: 93
Language: English
Series: American Indian Studies