Tributaries

by Laura Da'

In Tributaries, poet Laura Da’ lyrically surveys Shawnee history alongside personal identity and memory. With the eye of a storyteller, Da’ creates an arc that flows from the personal to the historical and back again. In her first book-length collection, Da’ employs interwoven narratives and perspectives, examines cultural archetypes and historical documents, and weaves rich images to create a shifting vision of the past and present.

Precise images open to piercing meditations of Shawnee history.  In the present, a woman watches the approximation of a scalping at a theatrical presentation. Da’ writes, “Soak a toupee with cherry Kool-Aid and mineral oil. / Crack the egg onto the actor’s head. / Red matter will slide down the crown / and egg shell will mimic shards of skull.” This vivid image is paired with a description of the traditional removal path of her own Shawnee ancestors through small towns in Ohio.

These poems range from the Midwestern landscapes of Ohio and Oklahoma to the Pacific Northwest, and the importance of place is apparent. Tributaries simultaneously offers us an extended narrative rumination on the impact of Indian policy and speaks to the contemporary experiences of parenthood and the role of education in passing knowledge from one generation to the next. This collection is composed of four sections that come together to create an important new telling of Shawnee past and present.

Genres: Poetry, Indigenous

Paperback

First published November 1, 2014

Reviews

[Abbi · Rating 4 out of 5]

This wasn't a specific category for the 2019 read harder challenge, but fits for#24 a collection of poetry. But it is also an award winning book (American Book Award) and it is poetry by a woman of Native American ancestry. I love how native poetry combines the myth figures (raven, snake, etc) with their own narrative. Such heartbreaking history but beautifully captured. I also enjoyed the notes at the end of the book to give insight into the poems, especially the historical ones, so the reader is able to dive in with full context. So much of the history is glossed over and I'm glad to read personal views & family stories--the weight of the brutality that happened is important to let sink in.

[Melissa Helton · Rating 5 out of 5]

So good. Gives the big scope of the Shawnee people before, during, and after forced removal from Ohio to Oklahoma. Also gives a zoomed-in interaction with the personal through characters and story. Love the weaving of tradition with modernity, natural and human-made, real and imagined. I know as someone not of Shawnee culture, much of the symbolism and cultural references were lost on me, which makes me want to read and study more. I'm excited to read the poet's other work.

[McKenzie Malone · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is full of poems and has no illustrations. I found that strange but also necessary because at some point you have to allow your mind to create your own images based on what you're reading. This is a book that could be used for several activities in the classroom throughout a poetry unit.

I would use this poetry book for 4-5th grade and for the lesson, it would be guided towards 4th grade. In this lesson the students will have listened to me read the poem and read it independently, after this they will discuss images, they made in their mind from reading. Once they have completed that task, the goal is for the students to create their own tributary river map.

[Ashley Bostrom · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love the way the poems told a story, each growing from an idea started in an earlier poem. As a teacher, the poems with the raven stayed with me the longest, especially “Raven Talks Curriculum” and “Raven Gets Meta.” Other memorable poems: “Advice to an Indian Agent” and “Della.”

[Simon · Rating 4 out of 5]

Glorious language, serious subjects.

[Gerry LaFemina · Rating 4 out of 5]

Laura Da' writes a meditative lyric poem that weaves Native American history and personal history together in tapestries of lovely language and startling imagery. Smart, musically vibrant, and necessarily straightforward in its emotional sensibilities, this first book makes me look forward to the poems Da' is going to write when she's at the top of her game.

[Holly Ristau · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a book of poems that are all interrelated that describe much of the history of the Shawnee people. It's beautifully written. I'm not a big poetry fan, so my enthusiasm is tempered. I had to get the book through interlibrary loan and was sad that the temporary library label affixed to the front cover almost obliterates the whole picture. I think the cover is itself a work of art.

[Laurie Neighbors · Rating 5 out of 5]

Too personal to hang stars on. Shawnee history from 1830 through today.

[Robin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lovely, thought-provoking, sometimes heart-wrenching. Local poet. Highly recommended.

[Jessica]

“Drought radiates from a sidewalk’s whorled spine. / Ocean salt scours an inland parking lot. / Freeways jangle their spurs / across the routes of the west.”

—From poem “The Myth of the West”