Sunday, April 22, 2012

Skins

It's no secret that we're huge Adrian C. Louis fans (for our money, he's absolutely one of the finest and most important North American poets now writing). And we know many of you are, too. We're soon to start his two-books-in-one Fire Water World & Among the Dog Eaters into production. To tide ourselves over, we've been watching the movie adaptation of Louis's heartbreaking novel, Skins (kept in print by the good folks at Ellis Press). We recommend both the novel and film...each looks straight into the fire, unflinchingly taking the vital signs of a country happy to glance away from those toiling at the margins.

To borrow Sherman Alexie's words:  "Louis has written a violent and dangerous book about twentieth-century Sioux Indians. This novel is a complex portrait of racism and brotherhood, sexism and affection, murder and redemption, alcoholism and laughter. These are not the simple Sioux of Dances with Wolves. These are not ‘Native’ Americans. These are Indians (yes, Indians) living, dying, and loving on the Pine Ridge Reservation in South Dakota. Skins is about the love between brothers, men and women, parents and children. Believe me, despite all the pain and because of the pain, this is a love story.”

Happy reading (or viewing)! 

For further reading: Archeology