Bone & Juice

by Adrian C. Louis

Adrian C. Louis's largely autobiographical verse is characterized by a bluntness born of self-irony and self-criticism. He attacks his subjects with an emotional engagement that is both tender and honest. Within the context of fallen ideals and lost spirituality among Native Americans, he composes elegies for his mentally disabled wife and describes scenes from "Cowturdville", his name for the town near a reservation where he lived. Mesmerizing the reader with the rhythm of his lively lines, Louis demonstrates a stylistic strength that is both accessible and demanding. His candid portrayals of Native American life and his social and moral critique of American consumerism and conformity are darkly hilarious odes to the cultural boundaries between Americans and Native Americans.

Genres: Poetry

96 pages, Paperback

First published October 31, 2001

About the author

Adrian C. Louis is a Lovelock Paiute author from Nevada now living on the Pine Ridge Reservation in South Dakota. He has taught at Oglala Lakota College. His novel Skins (1995) discusses reservation life and issues such as poverty, alcoholism, and social problems and was the basis for the 2002 film, Skins. He has also published books of poetry and a collection of short stories, Wild Indians and Other Creatures (1996). His work is noted for its realism.

Reviews

[CTEP]

Adrian C. Louis is not a happy writer, nor should he be one. His work is scarring; an unforgiving glimpse into the thoughts of a middle aged, former alcoholic, self-described "half-breed" Paiute Native American who has been given the short ended stick of life and is fully aware of it. Louis writes with the harsh reality of Bukowski, but the aesthetic setting has shifted from the urban sprawl of Los Angeles to the acrid barrenness of the Pine Ridge Reservation in the southwest corner of South Dakota. His writings present the imagery of rural America and the assortment of questionable characters you can dig up in the least expected places, much like the 80's period of Tom Waits' catalog.

Louis writes on Manifest Destiny,

"Here, in this Panhandle town,

farm kids speed desperately up

and down the main drag wearing

their baseball caps backward, hands

out the windows, stackin', throwing

gang signs they've seen on the tube

while their parents, almost glad

they are no longer young, sit home

and smile and pray to God that

the programs on the TV will

stop using so many cusswords..."

Louis portrays the feeling of contempt against the pseudo-hip hop culture that the rural white youth have adapted as a result of their apathetic parents not instilling a sense of identity into their brood. His writings point out the irony of how white manifestation culture has resulted in his state of living, yet the white youth would rather adapt to black urban culture than those of their ancestors. It's almost insulting to Louis to see this mismatched fusion of racial identity form in the least likely of places. Louis also covers his own identity, and the relationship shared between his Native American background and the country that tried to erase it.

On Valentine from Indian Country,

"Yes, this is Indian Country

and we are bone and juice,

twelve frothy ounces of moon

drool, a touch of inexact wistfulness,

wry evaporation, and eventual extinction.

In America there is no truer place

for us to worship our terrible beauty."

Louis delves into the complexity that is the identity of a Native American with biting disdain. He knows what his country has done to his people and the deep scars that has been left in his community. He himself is a victim to the imposed poverty within the reservation with his memories of alcoholism and how the disease destroyed people he knew. Not all of Louis' poems regard the environment that surrounds him and those who inhabit it. He can write from an intimate perspective regarding the relationship he shares with his wife, who suffers from early-onset Alzheimer's.

From This Is the Time of Grasshoppers and All That I See Is Dying,

"You're eating a Hershey Bar and

a crystal glob of snot is hanging

from your nose.

I reach over, pinch it off,

and wipe it on my jeans.

You thrust the last bite

of chocolate into my mouth

as a demented grasshopper

jumps onto your ear.

You scream. I howl

with laughter until you do too.

Happiness comes with a price.

This is the time of grasshoppers

and all that I see is dying expect

for my swarming love for you."

The love that Louis shares with his wife is something to be admired. Her mind is slowly deteriorating away but she provides a light that counteracts against the feelings of betrayal Louis has for his country. Like Louis' writings, the words do not shy away from the dirtier aspects of the relationship he has. But within those ugly portions of the relationship lies endearment, for Louis is willing to overlook the minute physical handicaps of his wife to celebrate the bond of love that they share. It is a challenging poem to read, knowing the limited time that Louis and his wife have together, but an absolutely beautiful love poem from one who normally writes with anger.

Like DuBois' The Souls of Black Folk, Bone and Juice offers an insight into what Americans of color experience and their creative inquiries to figuring out the reasoning behind misfortune. My African-American poetry mentor said he refused to speak to anyone about race until they have read DuBois' seminal poem, and I feel he would say the same regarding the plight of the modern Native American and the work of Louis. Through the ugliness and contempt and tragedy and love of Louis' work there is a flawed painting of Americana. A question of whether pursuing the American identity is worth the blood loss. I can't say Louis provides an answer, but his journey is something to be noted.

I highly recommend Bone and Juice to anyone interested in Native American studies/social justice. The book is a quick read (100 pages) but each poem requires some sort of reflection. Don't just blow through it, take some time to think on what Louis is saying.

[Alex Salinas · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'll take 6 Out of 5 Stars for $1,000, Alex.

[Ron · Rating 5 out of 5]

Readers of Adrian Louis' short stories and his novel, "Skins," will find many of the same themes in these 42 poems. Here is the same rage and the same mordant humor, all expressed in his distinctive voice. The big-hearted soul beneath the surface of these poems ranges from bitterness to tenderness - playing on words and ideas, often ribald and raunchy, and then brimming with well-earned sentiment.

A departure from the norm in this collection are several from-the-gut love poems, describing his deepening affection for a mentally stricken companion, Colleen. The anguish of this unrequited love, haunted by erotic memories of earlier times, is haunting and heartbreaking. Meanwhile, the poet, turning fifty, recognizes his own advancing middle age, and bids farewell to both love and his own youth. Finally, failing health lands him in surgery and a long season at the doorway of death on the fringes of his own sanity.

In the end, it's the journey of a battered heart, still tough and beating strong. I recommend it.

[Greg Western · Rating 4 out of 5]

I found this book on the shelf at a thrift store and am very glad I paid the $.37 to buy it. It was sad and dark and a little weird, and so honest and as much as I don't want to say it...wrenching. I haven't read so quickly through a book of poetry in a long time, maybe ever. The language was great and the content is dark and sad and obviously unique. I liked it and I didn't and I did. Will be looking for more from this author.