Dragonfly Dance

Foreword by Louise Erdrich

Dragonfly Dance heals us through movement, music, prayer—and unexpected humor... Denise writes what is true and real... reading this book is as uplifting as watching the play of wings across a summer sky. What a wonderful work and what a welcome new voice. ~ Heid E. Erdrich

Dragonfly Dance is a collection of poems remarkable for their candor and sense of catharsis. Writing from the vantage point of an American Indian woman, Denise Lajimodiere opens a door into the lives of Native girls and women. Her poems often reflect the deep tensions between Native culture and white culture. Reflected in Lajimodieres poems, life is sometimes beautiful but rarely easy. In The Necklace, the narrator details how her mother repaired a favorite beaded necklace, her arthritic fingers patiently / threading beads / on the long thin needle, weaving / night after night. Unadorned, direct, and often raw, these riveting poems sear their way into our imaginations, inviting us into a world we might never have known. We are richer for the knowledge.