In Her I Am

by Chrystos

Inspirational book.

Genres: Poetry, Queer, Lesbian, LGBT, Indigenous, Feminism, Native American

88 pages, Paperback

First published November 1, 1993

About the author

Chrystos is a Menominee writer and two-spirit activist who has published various books and poems that explore indigenous Americans's civil rights, social justice, and feminism. Chrystos is also a lecturer, writing teacher and fine-artist.

Reviews

[BadassCmd · Rating 4 out of 5]

we long for black & white so we don't have to think or understand, but sex is every color of the rainbow

I usually rate poetry by the way I can relate to it and by the way it makes me feel.
But this time I enjoyed this collection even though I didn't really connect with the poems.

So this is a hard thing to analyze and review, but I feel that while I was not able to relate many of the poems to my own experiences, instead I learned about the author through the poems.
Chrystos speaks of very personal views and of specific anecdotes of her love life that are not supposed to be framed in enough ambiguity to be relatable to every person who happens to be a queer woman.
And of course she also speaks about being a lesbian in 1993, which naturally I could not relate to since that was the year I was born.

Because of that, this poetry collection was mostly a piece of queer history and a learning experience for me, which I can appreciate just the same.

I especially enjoyed the two journal entries at the end. They explain through her perspective on the lesbian community of her time why the poetry collection is constructed and phrased the way it is.
Those entries really sold the book to me in the end.

the christian right which wants to kill queers doesn't care if you only have sex the nice girl way

[Grace Kidd · Rating 5 out of 5]

My wonderful partner annotated this book of poetry for me. The poetry/poems are vulnerable and raw. The most beautiful part of this is truly the time and effort put into annotating this book. As a queer woman I love seeing poetry aimed towards my demographic! Amazing book, highly recommend.

[alexis · Rating 4 out of 5]

Annotated for my girlfriend’s birthday. Very sensual 🧡

[Cheryl · Rating 4 out of 5]

One of my favorite books of lesbian poetry.

[Bianca · Rating 5 out of 5]

Omg most beautiful tender exquisite hot poetry ever

[Kasandra · Rating 3 out of 5]

Picked this up from a community bookshelf because who can pass up free poetry? I enjoyed the longer poems and prose more than the short ones - and the politically charged pieces were stronger than the purely erotic, which got repetitive (wings, roses, butterflies, petals, etc.). Not one to usually go for erotic poetry, this was better than expected, but I wanted more politics and outrage, as it turns out. It felt like the author was trying too hard not to offend (not with explicit description, there's plenty of that - but with a louder voice about her community and society). I'm not her target audience, though - big caveat. I'm sure this speaks more loudly to lesbians and/or queer First Nations womyn.

[Sarena Delgado · Rating 5 out of 5]

“ I rise to meet your light
a leaf flames under water
haloing the silken web of your fingers”

“Close your eyes
Come
into a deep dark flower
night woman
Inside crescent moon petals
Scratch your back on this magenta
Roll around in Scarlet
Wake up”

[liz · Rating 5 out of 5]

“i claim this land. i celebrate our outlaw lust.”

this is a beautiful book of lesbian poetry. so glad my professor assigned this. i loved the discussion of lesbianism as a radical act and s/m in the lesbian community. what a gift.

[Maddie · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5/5 stars rounded up for Goodreads. This collection is wonderfully erotic and sapphic. I loved it.

[Sarah Horner · Rating 4 out of 5]

basically smut (not complaining)

[Jodi Klash · Rating 4 out of 5]

Beautiful sapphic work, heart touching, sensual, sad at times. Everything you want

[Honeyed · Rating 5 out of 5]

Unforgivably sexy

[Chris Lynch · Rating 2 out of 5]

I've decided to always have at least one poetry book going, and I started with this collection of lesbian erotica, another Lifeline Bookfest discovery.

I found the book a very mixed bag. Chrystos is deeply concerned with authenticity of identity and feeling. When she nails her vulnerability or callousness towards lovers she's very good; when she misses, it comes across as horribly self-indulgent. I thought her longer prose poems, like 'Top Sadist in Town', were much stronger than the shorter ones (not including the political apologia at the end). The prose poems have a distinctive voice, often tell a story, and feel emotionally visceral.

Her shorter work focuses more on images and lust, and while the metaphors occasionally soar, there are a lot of wet petals and fluttering wings that didn't do it for me. But then, as she makes clear at the end, she's writing for a very small audience, so perhaps it's not for me to judge.

[Nairne Holtz · Rating 5 out of 5]

Chrystos prefaces this collection of sex-themed prose-poetry by observing her life as a working-class indigenous femme is rarely portrayed in lesbian fiction. This is true but to suggest she should be read as an anti-oppressive practice does her a huge disservice. She’s a funny, inquiring wordsmith whose fearless explorations of erotic life cover a lot of ground. There’s an unsatisfying fling with a fellow seducer (“Top Sadist in Town”), the ambivalence of two women who are abuse survivors enjoying spanking, and the beauty and joy of passion (“We’re hurtling through stars becoming / here / as we so rarely are”).

[Trish · Rating 5 out of 5]

My first day on the net ... I didn't just dip my toe in ... I posted a few Chrystos lines from this book and received some mighty powerful responses. This collection is not just erotic poetry ... it is the butch/femme dance done with lust, grace, joy ... a pleasure to behold and even more of a pleasure to share. This book was my first gift to my new love and ahhhh, what a dance it inspired. Chrystos puts it out there blatantly -- let's us see and feel the arousal -- head held high as she twirls in that bright red dress. Take this book to bed and feel the tingle

[Samantha Syracuse · Rating 4 out of 5]

Every page screams reality...it's love & lust, sadness & happiness. Chrystos holds nothing back. She is generous with detailed metaphors (and the less beat-around-the bush descriptions -- no pun intended) about her many, passionate experiences with other women. Some might argue that her details border on being crude, while others like myself appreciate the honesty and positive sense of identity Chrystos lets shine through her words.

[Cher · Rating 3 out of 5]

Poetry is not really my thang, but this is one of the first gifts my GF gave me when we started dating & there are definitely some major gems in here, such as The Red Dress (if I'm remembering the title correctly.)

[Gina · Rating 2 out of 5]

I guess I just don't like erotic poetry. I like erotica enough but not so much poetry. The book was a quick read and if you like erotic poetry, this would be right up your alley.

[Shahna · Rating 2 out of 5]

meh... It's nothing special.

[Cb · Rating 3 out of 5]

...it's ok to read with your partner in bed ... I wasn't overally impressed.