Native Son: American Poems from the Heart of Oklahoma

by Ron Wallace

In 1830 the Treaty of Dancing Rabbit Creek would force the Choctaw People to begin their long sad walk along their Trail of Tears. Soon afterward the Cherokees would be forced down their own trail as well, while other Native Peoples were being moved from all across the country into Indian Territory. Over hundreds of miles in the dead of winter, entire tribes were torn from their native lands and moved to a wild and unsettled country. Death and disillusionment became the commonplace order of the day, but ultimately these proud people would overcome the trauma and heartache and give this new land a new name taken from the Choctaw language. This place would become Oklahoma - a land of Red People. This is the land of which Ron Wallace speaks so proudly in his book, Native Son (American Poems From the Heart of Oklahoma). I feel the native pull of the land to my feet even now, / each time the redtail soars above me, / each time the bobcat or the fox crosses the open road / and disappears into the wild around me. He writes passionately of his love for family and friends and a set of values they and the land have instilled within him. He records the histories in the old way of father to son to grandson, and in so doing speaks for the universal nature of Oklahomans. A reader soon knows without a doubt, he writes from his heart, especially when he speaks of this state, which would give birth to a new strength in its people. In this land schools would be built, churches and democratic governments would arise with Native American men and women like a Phoenix from the ashes. Mr. Wallace captures this spirit in his poetry, a poetry of America, the common man, the laborers and educators, the red and white men and women who make up this great nation, this great state. It has become an integrated culture of many races, a culture seeking enlightenment and advancement while holding fast to a storied past and a history that made them strong. In his poem, Southern Thunder , he There is a certain comfort in knowing / that we are a part of the land / both literally and figuratively, / that we become the roots, the anchors / holding worlds in place / strengthening the present with the past. This state with all its tribes, its many diverse peoples, rose up from the Great Depression and helped to reform the most powerful nation in the world. The Long Walks, the Trails of Tears, the Dust Bowl, the train of oppressive wars had taught this place how to carve a path through the most difficult times. It was the indomitable spirit of this Red Man s Land that helped forge this mightiest of countries. Such men as these could not be ignored. They lifted themselves, and with themselves, they lifted a state, an entire nation. In the words of the poetry here, you will find the hearts and the souls of the men and women. I am Oklahoma born, a native son / a part of the land The words of this work will carry themselves across even more generations. Like so many other great Oklahomans, Ron Wallace will make you feel the pride and passion, the history and honor of this place we call home, America, Oklahoma (Red People). Chief Gregory E. Pyle Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma

Genres: Poetry

111 pages, Paperback

First published August 1, 2006

About the author

Ron Wallace was born December 17th, 1953 in Durant, Oklahoma. He grew up and still lives there with his wife and college sweetheart, Jane. They have one son, Matthew who is currently attending Southeastern Oklahoma State University where Ron graduated with a B.A. in 1977 and an M.A. in 1983. Wallace taught English, Humanities, American History, and coached baseball in Colbert, Oklahoma (a small public school on the Red River) for thirty years moving away from the writing he had been doing in college. He is of Native American (Choctaw, Cherokee and Osage) and Scots Irish ancestry tracing his roots out of Georgia and Arkansas into Oklahoma.
He began to revive his writing in the 90’s and started attempting some publishing as that decade closed. His work has appeared in Insight, Poetic Voices, Loch Raven Review, Scorched Earth Publishing and Grandmother Earth XIV just to name a few publications. In 2004 and 2005 he won several contests and was awarded a chance to publish a book at emergingpoets.net a website sponsored at that time by Jim Furber of TJMF Publishing. The result was Wallace’s first book, Native Son (American Poems From the Heart of Oklahoma), which became a finalist in the 2007 Oklahoma Book Awards. He saw his work translated and published in the January 2007 issue of the Romanian Literary Magazine, Convorbiri Literare by the noted Romanian poet Vasile Baghiu in December of 2006.
In February of 2007 Wallace appeared as part of the emergingpoets.net Southern Tour with one of the current sponsors of the site Maggie Wilkie and Tina Collins-Eib, Lynn Doiron, Sherry Thrasher and featured poet, Leo Briones. In March of 2007 he appeared as the featured poet at the Abydos Learning International Trainers Conference in Houston. In May he was the featured poet in Scorched Earth Publishing e-zine at www.scorchedearthpublishing.com, and in September he won second place in the 2007 Grandmother Earth National Environmental Poetry Writing Awards.
In 2007 his second book based on his love of American History was released. Smoke and Stone (The Voices of Gettysburg) is a poetic account of the Battle of Gettysburg from different points of view of both real and fictional participants in this turning point of the Civil War.
Wallace's third book of Oklahoma poetry, I Come from Cowboys ... and Indians, was released in October of 2008 and won the 2009 Oklahoma Writer's Federation Best Book of Poetry Award.
His fourth volume of poetry, Oklahoma Cantos, was released in September 2010 and was a finalist in the 2011 Oklahoma Book Awards and won the 2011 Oklahoma Writer's Federation Best Book of Poetry Award.

Reviews

[Kate Buford · Rating 4 out of 5]

For an Honorary Okie, reading this book is almost like being there. An acquired taste, no doubt, but heartfelt.

[Sarah Yagi · Rating 5 out of 5]

This native son, Ron Wallace, that is, has Oklahoma running through his veins. He draws the reader immediately into his amazing tales of Oklahoma's history and keeps attention to the very end of his poems. He has made Oklahoma come alive for this Pennsylvanian who never set foot in that State.