Reviews for Blue Horses Rush In: Poems and Stories

The average rating for Blue Horses Rush In: Poems and Stories based on 2 reviews is 4.5 stars.

Review # 1 was written on 2016-06-09 00:00:00 Renan Silva Nascimento Blue Horses Rush In is a collection of short stories and poems that delve into the past, present, and future of Dine' (Navajo) identity and life. Tapahonso asserts that one of the most components about Dine' life is the ability to tell and listen to stories, both written and participating in the oral traditions of the community. You can appreciate this collection with or without much knowledge of Dine' culture, although there are elements of Dine' cosmology that are scattered throughout the poems--for example, the four sacred colors in Dine' cosmology are depicted by the horses in the poem "Blue Horses Rush In." Other poems, including one in which the loss of a 5-month-old baby are discussed, can be taken as universal truths and emotions if you're ever experienced significant loss in your own life. While Tapahonso suggests that readers should not take all of her writings as autobiographical (in her preface, which could come off as slightly judgmental to some readers) it is clear that some of these pieces are very much so based on her own experiences. If you have the chance, I would recommend hearing Tapahonso read in person. I think the cadence of her voice, read aloud, actually makes these pieces stronger. As a collective group, there are many good pieces, but there are also a few here and there that don't seem to "fit" into the collective whole. That being said, I highly suggest that people give this collection a quick read.

Review # 2 was written on 2013-06-09 00:00:00 Matthew Green Luci Tapahonso was just named the Navajo Poet Laureate, and Blue Horses Rush In: Poems and Stories tells why that honor was given to her. This is a brilliant book. Both the poetry and the stories reach into everyday Navajo life and illuminate the closeness of Navajo families and the song of who the Navajo are as a people. The poetry takes common day events and shapes them into stories and intense moments of humanity that creates laughter, sadness, gratefulness, joy. Reading this book, I felt better about myself as a human being upon the planet earth. The Navajo are a poor people economically, but immensely rich in the qualities that grow out of relationships between people and the land in which they live. The stories in the book are short and more like prose poems than short stories, but they shine in the depth of the individual histories they illuminate. Tapahonso is a master craftsman whose craft is so skilled that it transforms itself into art. If you read no other book of poetry this year, this is the book I would recommend.