for an Anthology of Native American poetry, fiction and nonfiction to be published by Lost Horse Press, THEME: Humor
Tiffany Midge and Natanya Ann Pulley
are collecting original creative works for an anthology of Indigenous poetry,
fiction, and nonfiction with humor as its theme. Humor has always been a
hallmark of Native cultures and testifies to Native peoples’ wit, resiliency
and fondness for the sharing of good stories and laughter; after all, every day is a good day to laugh! For this collection the editors are
interested in writing that channels inner tricksters, clowns and heyokas as the
quintessential comedians and ultimate healers. The editors will be considering creative work that showcases
satire, irony, irreverence, hyperbole, mirth, celebration, humor both riotous
and dry and first-rate storytelling.
Vine Deloria's essay "Indian
Humor,” published in his book Custer Died For Your Sins: An Indian Manifesto
conveys: "One of the best ways to understand a people is to know
what makes them laugh. Laughter encompasses the limits of the soul. In humor
life is redefined and accepted. Irony and satire provide much keener insights
into a group's collective psyche and values than do years of
research."
In The Sacred Hoop,
Paula Gunn Allen writes: “Certainly
the time frame we presently inhabit has much that is shabby and tricky to
offer; and much that needs to be treated with laughter and ironic humor; it is
this spirit of the trickster creator that keeps Indians alive and vital in the
face of horror.”
Kenneth Lincoln, author of Indi'n Humor: Bicultural Play in
Native America emphasizes that “humor
is a way of resisting genocide and is used as a means of survival.”
According to Ojibway author Drew Hayden
Taylor, Comedy is a very serious business. “I was once told by an Elder from
Alberta's Blood Reserve that "humour is the WD40 of healing.”
Send your best work medicine (poetry,
fiction, nonfiction) that enlivens, uplifts, amuses, startles, heals and
surprises as a Word or RTF attachment to lol.ndn@gmail.com
or
snail mail to Tiffany Midge, 204 East ‘A’ Street, Apt. 2, 83843. Deadline January 31,
2012.
Please be sure to include a bio, your tribal
affiliation, and your contact information. Please
include acknowledgements if your submission has been previously published.
ABOUT THE
EDITORS:
Natanya
Ann Pulley's maternal
family home is near Tuba City, Arizona. She is half-Dine of the Kiiyaa'aanii
(Towering House Clan). Bicheii is Tachiinii (Red Running Into Water Clan).
Natanya is currently working on her PhD at the University of Utah in Fiction
Writing. She is an editor of Quarterly West and her work can
be found in Western Humanities Review, The Florida Review, Moon
Milk Review, The Collagist, Drunken Boat and on her
site: gappsbasement.com. In addition to reading and studying experimental
forms, disability and horror theory, Natanya enjoys being part of an unruly
pack composed of her husband JP, their three psychic dogs, and a tank of
dreamsunk fish.
Tiffany Midge is an enrolled member of the Standing Rock Sioux, and a poetry MFA
graduate from the University of Idaho.
Her poetry collection
Outlaws, Renegades and Saints: Diary of Mixed-up Halfbreed won the Native
Writers of the Americas First Book Award.
The chapbook, Guiding the Stars to their Campfire, Driving the Salmon to
their Beds was published by Gazoobi Tales . A three-time nominee for the Pushcart Prize, Tiffany has
published poetry and nonfiction in Shenandoah, North American Review,
Poetry Northwest and most recently
in The Raven Chronicles, Florida Review , No Tell Motel, Drunken Boat
and South Dakota Review. Tiffany resides in Moscow, Idaho (In
Nez Perce country) and teaches part time with Northwest Indian College. She keeps the blog UGH; Uncivilized Grunting Heathen at http://breakfastattiphanys.blogspot.com/
Lost Horse Press Mission Statement
Established in 1998, Lost Horse Press—a nonprofit
independent press—publishes poetry titles of high literary merit, and makes
available other fine contemporary literature through cultural, educational and
publishing programs and activities. The Lost Horse New Poets, Short Books
Series, edited by Marvin Bell, is dedicated to works—often ignored by
conglomerate publishers—which are so much in danger of vanishing into obscurity
in what has become the age of chain stores and mass appeal food, movies, art
and books. http://www.losthorsepress.org/
