Torn sky : poems / Debra Nystrom.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Nystrom, Debra.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

West (U.S.)--Poetry.

West (U.S.).

Genre:

Poetry.

Physical Description:

x, 88 pages ; 24 cm

Edition:

First edition.

Place of Publication:

Louisville, Ky. : Sarabande Books, [2003]

Summary:

"Nystrom's gift as a poet is that she doesn't stop looking, and her poems make sure it is all still there for us to see." -- Eamon Grennan

The landscape of "Torn Sky "is South Dakota, a place of extremes, where parched land meets frigid air and exiled Native Americans still struggle to live in peace alongside ranchers. Nystrom's poems weave together the voices of her childhood with ghosts of the last two tumultuous centuries and articulate with such subtle and unsentimental grace that each side is understood.

Debra Nystrom was born in Pierre, South Dakota. She is the author of one previous book, "A Quarter Turn." She lives in Charlottesville, Virginia, and teaches at the University of Virginia. "Torn Sky is the sixty-second title to be published by Sarabande Books, a nonprofit literary press headquartered in Louisville, Kentucky. Founded in 1994 to publish poetry and short fiction, Sarabande's mission is to disburse these works with diligence and integrity, and to serve as an educational resource to teachers and students of creative writing. Since the 1996 debut of the press, our titles have received positive review attentions from nationally distinguished media including "The New York Times Book Review, "Publisher's Weekly, "Kirkus Reviews, "American Book Review, "Small Press, "The Nation, and "Library Journal. Debra Nystrom is a Sarabande In Education featured author.

Contents:

I. The Cliff Swallows

Listening in Bed to You Reading Swann's Way Aloud 3

In Its Place 5

Grandad 9

Homesteaders 10

Toll 11

Regardless of the Final Score 12

Keith's Dream 13

Four Sheets Cut Out 15

Oahe Races 18

Waitress at a Window 20

Thieves 21

Leukemia 24

Snow 25

To the Wizard 26

Twisting Vines 28

Half Time, Oglala High, 1970 29

Frieda's Plan 31

Medevac: East From Eagle Butte 34

Wounded Knee Creek: Hakiktawin's Story 35

Seventies, USD 37

The Cliff Swallows 40

II. Secrets

Fly-Fishing on Tommy's Lake 43

Whitehaven 46

Night Before the Fertility Clinic 47

Stiff Heart 48

Secretissime, Praesentissime 50

Secrets 51

The Girl Without Hands 59

Mirage 62

Black Walnut 65

Dreams 67

Freud's Study: Anna Packing Up 69

The Waving Window 71

Mother Listening 73

Okobojo: Light Moving 75

The Blue Table 78

The Tuesday Healing Service, Saint Mark's Mission Church 79

Leonids 81.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references (pages 85-87).

ISBN:

1889330892

1889330906

OCLC:

51258060