Finding Your Voice after Being "Invisible for So Long"
Navajo Nation Poet Laureate Laura Tohe talks about encouraging Native Voices
“There should be poetry readings in the senate meetings, poetry in the halls of justice, poetry in these high offices,” —Laura Tohe, Navajo Nation Poet Laureate
Preview: Episode 86 Laura Tohe on Finding Your Voice
“I wanted to be a writer and I didn’t know how,” says Laura Tohe. Though she eventually became the Poet Laureate of the Navajo Nation, it wasn’t until she went to college that she first heard and read Native writers. “I read a lot of Dick and Jane books,” she says. “Those were not about me.” But what she did hear a lot of while growing up in a small community in the Navajo Nation homeland was stories. In this episode of Emerging Form, Tohe talks about the writers who helped her find a voice and a place in the writing community (Rudolfo Anaya, Joy Harjo, Gerald Hopson and Simon J. Ortiz), the importance of encouraging young Navajo writers, writing and reading about things we are familiar with, and what she would do with her magic wand to help the poetry community.
Laura Tohe is Diné. She is Sleepy Rock People clan and born for the Bitter Water People clan. She has published three books of poetry, an anthology of Native women’s writing, and an oral history on the Navajo Code Talkers. Her librettos, Enemy Slayer, A Navajo Oratorio (2008) and Nahasdzáán in the Glittering World (2021), performed in Arizona and France, respectively. Among her awards are the 2020 Academy of American Poetry Fellowship, and the 2019 American Indian Festival of Writers Award. Twice she’s been nominated for a Pushcart Prize. She is Professor Emerita with Distinction from Arizona State University. She was honored as the Navajo Nation Poet Laureate for 2015-2017, a title given to her in celebration and recognition of her work as a poet and writer.
What We’re Reading and Listening to:
Rosemerry:
I am the biggest fan of Voces8, an a capella singing group that sends me into ecstasy when I listen—and my friend John sent me this recent release of “Sing, Gently” in which they perform a song by Eric Whitacre (we see him directing in this video, too, which is also a treat) and the piano accompaniment performed by Christopher Glynn. The lyrics are so unifying and inspirational, the voices weave and soar, and I could just listen to it all day (um, in fact I have). It’s the kind of music that makes me think that as a species, we are capable of such beauty—a powerful counterpoint to the news.
Today in the mail I got a copy of Beyond All Appearances: An unwavering peace, a collection of collages by Rashani Réa woven with short texts by me and Damascena Tamis. All three of us have lost children, as has Lynn Moore, who wrote the forward. Rashani calls it “A refuge for all who grieve,” and it is that—a book filled with so much love, a healing circle, an invitation to stay open. Not a how-to. Not a memoir of loss. It’s a collection of that invites connection and reflection with the images, the colors, and the transformative, generous energy on every page.
Christie:
OMG I loved this multimedia piece from the New York Times about the Joy of Letting Loose. Go check it out and then do a little dance.
This nice piece at the Colorado Sun from Laura Pritchett is ostensibly about art of the out-of-office reply, but it’s really about taking care of your one sacred life.
The power of walking to spark creativity and solve problems is an ongoing theme here at Emerging Form, and it’s also the focus of this lovely essay by Andrew McCarthy (yes, that guy from Pretty in Pink).
Our New Instagram Account!
We are so excited that Leah, our amazing audio engineer and support staff extraordinaire has helped us create a new instagram account … join us there for sneak peaks and highlights and more!
Nálí, Her Solo
next to her bed her instrument sleeps
covered for the night like a bird in a cage
night passes . . . . . . the light returns
she pulls the cover away
dust motes dance in the air
she tunes her loom
strums the white parallel lines
with a flick of her wrist
each string must vibrate
layers of notes grow upward
tamp tamp tamp tamp
she listens for the right pitch
inserts the percussion fork into
the parallel lines that lead upward
she pulls down mountains, stars, lightning, storm patterns
tamp tamp tamp tamp
she is mythic soloist, storyteller, mathematician
her concert transforms us
we soften like lambskin
—Laura Tohe
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First, we want to thank ALL our subscribers! We are so grateful you join us in this conversation about what it is to engage with yourself, the world and others in a creative way. And a BIG thank you to our paid subscribers. You make this podcast possible. Starting this month, only our paid subscribers will receive our bonus episodes as a thank you for their financial support.
This week, Laura talks about writing for her grandchild, how a hummingbird helped to write a poem, and she reads “Nálí, Her Solo.” If you are not yet a paid subscriber, you can go now to our website, EmergingForm.substack.com, or by clicking the button below. Thank you!
Two Questions:
(share your answers with us here on Substack or in our FB group)
How does paradox show up in your creative practice?
Who has surprised you by supporting your creative practice? What did they do?
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