Riding the Earthboy Forty

by Welch, James (Author); Tate, James (Introduction by)

• ISBN13: 9780143034391
• ISBN10: 0143034391
• Edition: Reprint
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2004-10-31
• Publisher: Penguin (Non-Classics)

Summary

Now with an introduction from celebrated poet James Tate, Riding the Earthboy 40is the only volume of poetry written by acclaimed Native American novelist James Welch. The title of the book refers to the forty acres of Montana land Welch’s father once leased from a Blackfeet family called Earthboy. This land and its surroundings shaped the writer’s worldview as a youth, its rawness resonates in the vitality of his elegant poetry, and his verse shows a great awareness of a moment in time, of a place in nature, and of the human being in context. Deeply evoking the specific Native American experience in Montana, Welch’s poems nonetheless speak profoundly to all readers. With its new introduction, this vital work that has influenced so many American writers is certain to capture a new generation of readers.

Author Biography

James Welch (1940-û2003) was the author of six books, including the novel Fools Crow, which won an American Book Award and the Los Angeles Times Book Prize. He attended schools on the Blackfeet and Fort Belknap reservations in Montana and studied writing at the University of Montana under the legendary writing teacher Richard Hugo.

James Tate-'s honors include a National Institute of Arts and Letters Award for Poetry and fellowships from the Guggenheim Foundation and the National Endowment for the Arts.

Table of Contents

Introduction	vii
James Tate
KNIVES
Magic Fox	3	(1)
Verifying the Dead	4	(1)
Song for the Season	5	(1)
Dreaming Winter	6	(1)
Toward Dawn	7	(1)
Blue Like Death	8	(1)
Crystal	9	(1)
Picnic Weather	10	(1)
Directions to the Nomad	11	(1)
Gesture Down to Guatemala	12	(1)
Life Support System	13	(1)
The World's Only Corn Palace	14	(1)
Arizona Highways	15	(2)
Night Hawk	17	(1)
Trestles by the Blackfoot	18	(3)
THE RENEGADE WANTS WORDS
In My First Hard Springtime	21	(1)
Christmas Comes to Moccasin Flat	22	(1)
In My Lifetime	23	(1)
Spring for All Seasons	24	(1)
There Are Silent Legends	25	(1)
Harlem, Montana: Just Off the Reservation	26	(2)
Riding the Earthboy 40	28	(1)
Going to Remake This World	29	(1)
Plea to Those Who Matter	30	(1)
The Man from Washington	31	(1)
Blackfeet, Blood and Piegan Hunters	32	(1)
The Last Priest Didn't Even Say Goodbye	33	(1)
D-Y Bar	34	(1)
The Only Bar in Dixon	35	(1)
Thanksgiving at Snake Butte	36	(1)
The Renegade Wants Words	37	(4)
DAY AFTER CHASING PORCUPINES
Day After Chasing Porcupines	41	(1)
Surviving	42	(1)
Snow Country Weavers	43	(1)
Visit	44	(1)
Dancing Man	45	(1)
Birth on Range 18	46	(1)
The Wrath of Lester Lame Bull	47	(1)
There is a Right Way	48	(1)
Getting Things Straight	49	(1)
The Versatile Historian	50	(3)
THE DAY THE CHILDREN TOOK OVER
The Day the Children Took Over	53	(1)
Call to Arms	54	(1)
Two for the Festival	55	(1)
You Gone, the King Dead	56	(1)
Day to Make Up Incompletes	57	(1)
Counting Clouds	58	(2)
Grandma's Man	60	(2)
Gravely	62	(1)
Grandfather at the Rest Home	63	(1)
Legends Like This	64	(1)
Lady in a Distant Face	65	(2)
Never Give a Bum an Even Break	67