Layli Long Soldier

A slim volume, dense in meaning if not words. A farrago of personal narrative and national policy and history, of cultural trends and identity. Soldier interrogates language, both stated and implicit statements, arguing much cultural work is done with language. The emotional heft of her argument is felt indirectly: a nod to history here, sardonic lack of comment there.

Upon first reading, I'm left with a strong impression from individual passages even as I sense I've missed an important sense show more of the whole. This is a pattern for me, reading verse. I shall have to re-read for a better grasp of how the individual poems fit together, build up something other than themselves. show less

This was a gorgeous collection, both the poems in front but especially the "Whereas" portion. Long Soldier's poetry is biting and funny and wrenching and so thought-provoking. There were so many great lines that were moving, and the style seemed constantly in motion, always shifting, never settling, which made for a really refreshing reading experience. Highlights for me included "38" (though it feels so wrong to name that as a "favorite," I just want everyone I know to read it,) the show more "Diction" series, and so many of the "Whereas" poems. Cannot encourage folks to read this enough, it's really beautiful. show less

Whereas should be required reading. If I had kids I would encourage them to read this text that cuts across genres and uses form in a way that is bold without being too much. There's so much in the political and historical action of these poems intertwined with phenomenon of experience from an indigenous perspective in the United States, a country that's system are deeply structured by racism and oppression.

Excellent investigation of language. I admit I didn't initially connect much with 1-2 but section 3 (Whereas) is well worth reading, for everyone. For the thoughtfulness on identity and form, this requires careful reading, but I recommend anyone trying it power through what doesn't land and keep reading for what does.