The Feathered Heart

Introduction

Introduction As Native American literature reaches new levels of accomplishment, poets like Mark Turcotte will emerge and redefine everything we have known about this vibrant genre. The Feathered Heart proves the deepest and most personal memories are entryways into the poetic spirit that has shaped Native writing for the past century. Turcotte's poems arise from this tradition, but they clearly gain new ground in the consciousness that pulls our most vital poets together. Reading these poems means any notions about Native Writing can be left behind. There are ghosts here, but they do not haunt us because of our national history. They come alive in these poems because Turcotte's voice demands we look behind us to see what we have missed. By reading them, we gain strength for the next century. There is love and bitterness here, but they pass through the stream of the heart and mind any poet crosses when language demands these forces come alive. Most important of all, there is dark hope and proud vision in the poems of The FeatheredHeart. Turcotte knows which words bring us to these doors and he writes as if his chest is about to break open in song and wisdom. The short, lyrical chant and the longer meditative poem are reshaped by 'Turcotte's ability to find union with his tribal past, his childhood experiences, and the need to survive in modern America. The result is a first book of poems that will not allow itself to be labeled as just another book of Native American writing. There is a restless and magnetic music here and its capacity to make us look at hearts increases with each reading. The Feathered Heart is a revelation and a bridge to the next century. After the enormous changes that have overtaken U.S. literature in the last decade, the idea of a true multicultural writing must be replaced by a more ix. .x genuine poetics of culture and universal character. Turcotte's poems move us in this new direction with their ability to transform his personal world into timeless moments of transcendence. At the end of the book, we know what he knows and we see what he sees. Yet, the surprises in these poems never end. Their magic and their way of drawing the reader closer means a new kind of writing is being created. It is shaped with a language that prepares us for the future direction ofa genuine American poetry. The FeatheredHeart proves the next century is the fertile ground where Native voices are the first to pronounce there is a new vision and it is granting us the gift of poetry. Ray Gonzalez ...