What Grandmother Says

J.D. Whitney

For many Native people, “grandmother” represents not only a family elder but an elemental creative force pervading life with her wisdom, playful irony, and skillful instruction. J.D. Whitney’s poems give voice to Grandmother’s amused tolerance and delighted appreciation of all creatures. Through evocative word-pictures, we encounter “Old Man quiet-foot crouching-in-the-grass Mountain Lion,” “warm-belly full-belly bloody-muzzle wolf” and “waddling rustle-walker belly-dragging porcupine.” Grandmother offers subtle life-lessons to a too-proud raven, grumpy snapping turtle and whining polar bear (and perhaps to us, too). These poems are brimming with wisdom lightly told, an exploration of mysteries and meanings that is both thoughtful and refreshing.

J.D. Whitney’s previous collections include Word of Mouth, sd, Tongues, The Nabisco Warehouse, & sd, Tracks, sd & done, and What Grandmother Says. He teaches at the University of Wisconsin Marathon County (Wausau) and has taught at the College of the Menominee Nation (Keshena). Recipient of fellowships from the national Endowment for the Arts and the Wisconsin Arts Board, he lives in the Nokomis/Opikwuna Bioregion of central Wisconsin.

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Excerpt

GRANDMOTHER

                               sits under
tree full of quiet
crows.
Hides
listening.
Waits
          so
long her bottom gets
sore.
Shouts
           &
scares them into
air
     with a
CLAP!
          to hear the
sound
their
       hwa-hwa-hwa
wings
make.