Returning the Gift: Poetry and Prose from the First North American Native Writers' Festival »

An unprecedented gathering of more than 300 Native writers was held in Norman, Oklahoma, in 1992. The Returning the Gift Festival brought more Native writers together in one place than at any other time in history. "Returning the Gift," observes co-organizer Joseph Bruchac, "both demonstrated and validated our literature and our devotion to it, not just to the public, but to ourselves." In compiling this volume, Bruchac invited every writer who attended the festival to submit new, unpublished work; he then selected the best of the more than 200 submissions to create a collection that includes established writers like Duane Niatum, Simon Ortiz, Lance Henson, Elizabeth Woody, Linda Hogan, and Jeanette Armstrong, and also introduces such lesser-known or new voices as Tracy Bonneau, Jeanetta Calhoun, Kim Blaeser, and Chris Fleet. The anthology includes works from every corner of the continent, representing a wide range of tribal affiliations, languages, and cultures. By taking their peoples' literature back to them in the form of stories and songs, these writers see themselves as returning the gift of storytelling, culture, and continuance to the source from which it came. In addition to contributions by 92 writers are two introductory chapters: Joseph Bruchac comments on the current state of Native literature and the significance of the festival, and Geary Hobson traces the evolution of the event itself.

Library Journal

Tired of living in the margin at mainstream literary conferences, a group of Native writers began to talk of an "international gathering of Native writers.'' The 1992 "Returning the Gift Festival'' was the cumulation of this ten-year dream. Almost 400 Native writers and Native students (offered scholarships through the festival) attended the four-day event, coming from throughout the United States and Canada, as well as from Mexico, Panama, Cuba, and Peru. This showcase represents new, original work from the participants of that gathering. Although the stories and poems presented here cover a variety of themes and styles, several of the writers addressed the empowerment derived from surrounding themselves with other writers from Native cultures. They were not, as Kimberly M. Blaeser addressed in a poem, "Exhibit A No B, no C, just solitary romanticized A." This collection presents some of the best known Native writers, and a host of new voices to be alert for.-Debbie Bogenschutz, Cincinnati Technical Coll.