Mohawk Trail

by Beth Brant

Book by Brant, Beth

Genres: Poetry, LGBT, Short Stories, Fiction, Indigenous, Native American, Canada

Paperback

First published January 1, 1985

About the author

Beth E. Brant (Indian: Degonwadonti) (born 1941 Melvindale, Michigan or in the Tyendinaga reservation in Ontario) is a Mohawk writer. She is known as a theorist ("writing as witness") who has had a profound effect on literary activism in the Americas, as the producer of a substantial body of work in short fiction, nonfiction and poetry, and as editor of groundbreaking anthologies.

(from Wikipedia)

Reviews

[CaseyTheCanadianLesbrarian · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you’ve never heard of Beth Brant (Degonwadonti), that’s a damn shame. I mean, she’s one of the founding grandmothers of lesbian writing in English, of Native lesbian writers, and women of colour writers. Shame on me for not reading her earlier, and shame on the mainstream queer literary scene for not paying more attention to this fascinating Mohawk author, today and in the past. Did you know that she didn’t start writing until she was forty? If that’s not inspirational for aspiring literary types, I don’t know what is. Actually, the whole story of how she began to write, as told in her bio, is awesome:

Brant began writing at the age of forty after a motor trip through the Mohawk Valley, where a Bald Eagle flew in front of her car, sat in a tree, and instructed her to write. She has been writing ever since.

Mohawk Trail is Brant’s first book, published in 1985—so it’s as old as me!—and I thought that I might as well start with it. It’s multi-genre, containing poetry and fiction. There’s a visceral quality to many of the pieces in this book, an immediacy evoked by the disarmingly simple writing and the often direct, clean voices. These are stories and poems about Native, working-class, and queer people (usually women) but they’re not about identity. They’re slices of life, in seamlessly authentic voices that sound just like there’s someone beside you, or maybe across the dinner table, talking. Take the simply titled “Terri”:

My name is Terri. With an i. Yeah, I was born right here in this neighborhood. It don’t matter much how old I am, let’s just say I’m over twenty-one. Ha! I’ve been dancing for about two years now. I like it. Five days a week I work at K-Mart as a cashier. It sure gives me something to look forward to, being a go-go girl on Friday nights. It makes me feel happy to get all dolled up and go out and dance for the ladies…Did I tell you my ma was part Indian? Yeah, Chippewa. My dad’s a Polack. That’s how come I got Indian hair and hazel eyes. Some of the girls here thought I should change my name to Honey on account of the colour of my skin. But they thought it should be spelled Honee. With two e’s.

You can picture the woman talking to you, can’t you? Brant has such a strong command of voice...

See the rest of my review at my blog: https://caseythecanadianlesbrarian.wo...

[Lauren · Rating 5 out of 5]

Brant packs a lot of information and emotion into this small book. Heartrending at times, sensuous at others, it's a book well worth reading.

[Virgowriter (Brad Windhauser) · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars. A few interesting queer stories.

[Sandra de Helen · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a beautiful book of poems and stories by a Native American lesbian and feminist. I took my time reading this book, savoring each poem and story. Brant's is a voice I hadn't heard before, and wish I'd seen this book when it was first published. I'm glad to read it now. It certainly has stood the test of time.

[Laura · Rating 5 out of 5]

loved this book of short stories!