From Library Journal
This book of compassionate, forthright poetry (and a moving autobiographical essay) tries to come to terms with conflicts between the tribal Navajo reservation ("the rez") and "the place some call the United States." Evoking her grandparents' bond with "the painted desert's magic" and the ordeal of her parents' relocation from reservation to boarding school, Belin provides graphic descriptions of the "wounds" one endures remaining true to a "native lifestyle." Born in Gallup, NM, and educated at the University of California at Berkeley, she found herself transformed by her return to the reservation, opening "a hope chest treasured with stories" when she enrolled at the Institute of American Indian Arts in Santa Fe. Despite the tension between primitive "Third World belly" and "Euro-American" culture, Belin rejects bitterness at "minority status" even as she documents the courage it takes to find "the voices of our nations, our clan relations, our families." Her conclusion is upbeat: "The hunger in my writing feeds from my journey homeward." For larger poetry collections.AFrank Allen, Northampton Community Coll., Tannersville, PA
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