Jake Skeets on Poetry Centered

 

Jake Skeets curates poems by Diné poets centering on translation and the way that the Diné language orients its speakers to the world, which exists before them. He shares Rex Lee Jim’s invocation of voice as what brings life (“Language”), Laura Tohe’s embodiment of meaning in rhythm and sound (“Niltsá Bi'áád, Female Rain” and “Niltsá Bika', Male Rain”), and Luci Tapahonso’s blending of Diné syntax with English (“Hills Brothers Coffee”). Skeets closes with his poem “Emerging,” which traces the act of translation between English and Diné.

Listen to the episode

Watch the full recordings of Jim, Tohe, and Tapahonso readings for the Poetry Center on Voca:

Rex Lee Jim (2001)

Laura Tohe (2011)

Luci Tapahonso (2011)

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