Bone Dance

"I have often been identified as a 'protest poet,'" writes Wendy Rose,"and although something in me frowns a little at being so neatly categorized, that is largely the truth." A prolific voice in Native American writing for more than twenty years, Rose has been widely anthologized and is the author of eight volumes of poetry. Bone Dance is a major anthology of her work, comprising selections from her previous collections along with new poems. The 56 selections move from observation of the earth to a search for one's place and identity on it. They convey a sense of travel and inquiry, whether based on actual journeys on intellectual search. Through them we sense the dynamic tension experienced by Native peoples when they struggle to retain their traditional ways. In an introduction written for this anthology, Rose comments on the place each past collection had in her development as a poet. "Around the age of eighteen," she reflects, "I thought that I had to be strong so that the fragile, old knowledge would be protected. At forty-five, I see things a little differently. It is the old way that is strong. The people like me are the ones who have always been in danger. I learned that my true job is simply to be who I am and keep listening."