G̱agaan X̱'usyee
Below the Foot of the Sun
The pieces of what’s left of a people colonized need caretaking, lionizing, and encouragement to come out into the sun. The job is left to poets who are also warriors. Descending from Alaska’s Lingít, Haida, and Yup’ik Native Nations, X̱’unei Lance Twitchell spent decades studying the Lingit language, championing Indigenous language preservation, and polishing this debut collection.
Onion Bay—Kodiak, Alaska
Explore the territory of other creatures
where energy exists thousands of years
unshaven, untroubled, unbroken.
Everything becomes visible in stillness,
power invades the senses in a spectacle—
…soft patches of moss and mud
…distant bird whistle and squirrel chirp,
…all pushed by a nudging breeze.
Wide imprints dent the cool
slick edges of a riverbank,
accompanied by those of a small child
still learning the inherited territory,
…practicing tactics of survival in
…a homeland mother calls her own.
Reviewed by
Matt Sutherland
Disclosure: This article is not an endorsement, but a review. The publisher of this book provided free copies of the book to have their book reviewed by a professional reviewer. No fee was paid by the publisher for this review. Foreword Reviews only recommends books that we love. Foreword Magazine, Inc. is disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255.
