Sherwin Bitsui

American Book Award-winning Navajo poet Sherwin Bitsui

From: New Letters on the Air
Series: New Letters on the Air
Length: 29:00

Sherwin Bitsui reads from FLOOD SONG, his poetry collection that won the 2010 American Book Award and the PEN Open Book Award. Raised in a border town on the Fort Defiance Navajo reservation, Bitsui also talks about how his poetry and paintings are informed by the intense imagery of his childhood landscapes and reads from his 2003 book of poems, SHAPE SHIFT, which explores various kinds of border-crossings. Read the full description.

Piece Audio

Promos

Playing: American Book Award-winning Navajo poet Sherwin Bitsui
From: New Letters on the Air

Bitsui-prx_small Navajo poet Sherwin Bitsui won the 2010 American Book Award and the PEN Open Book Award for his collection called FLOOD SONG. He reads from the book and also discusses his 2003 poetry collection, SHAPE SHIFT, which explores various kinds of border-crossings. Raised on the Fort Defiance Navajo reservation, Bitsui says his poetry reflects his connection to nature and ancient traditions but also examines the dichotomy of living in two different worlds with shifting senses of time, language, and culture. Also a visual artist, Bitsui talks about how both his poetry and paintings are informed by the intense imagery of his childhood landscapes.

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Piece Description

Navajo poet Sherwin Bitsui won the 2010 American Book Award and the PEN Open Book Award for his collection called FLOOD SONG. He reads from the book and also discusses his 2003 poetry collection, SHAPE SHIFT, which explores various kinds of border-crossings. Raised on the Fort Defiance Navajo reservation, Bitsui says his poetry reflects his connection to nature and ancient traditions but also examines the dichotomy of living in two different worlds with shifting senses of time, language, and culture. Also a visual artist, Bitsui talks about how both his poetry and paintings are informed by the intense imagery of his childhood landscapes.

Broadcast History

This program originally uplinked to PRSS' Content Depot on May 18, 2012, for delivery to member stations.

Timing and Cues

November is Native American Heritage Month, so New Letters on the Air is featuring Navajo poet Sherwin Bitsui (BIT-soo-ee). He reads from FLOOD SONG, his collection that won an American Book Award and the PEN Open Book Award in 2010. Raised on a Navajo reservation in Arizona, he talks abut how his poetry and paintings reflect the dichotomy of living between worlds with shifting senses of time, language, and culture. Bitsui also reads from his first book, SHAPE SHIFT--next time on NEW LETTERS ON THE AIR...
UPLINK DATE: 11/02/2012
PROGRAM LENGTH: 29:00 minutes
INCUE: (music) "Navajo poet Sherwin Bitsui explores American life...
OUTCUE: "...I'm Angela Elam. Thanks for listening to NEW LETTERS ON THE AIR."

Musical Works

Title	Artist	Album	Label	Year	Length
Rite of Passage	Kevin Macleod	Royalty-Free Production Music.	incompetech.com	2012	00:00

Additional Credits

New Letters on the Air is a production of the quarterly literary magazine, New Letters, and the University of Missouri-Kansas City. Partial financial support comes from the Missouri Arts Council, a state agency.