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A review by dejnozkova
Combing the Snakes from His Hair by James Thomas Stevens
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
4.25
I wasn’t too sure about this collection when I started. The first part was dedicated to native plants. A few of the poems I liked but for the most part this section of the book didn’t stand out to me until I got to his poems about love, acceptance, and healing. His romantic poems drip with a wounded adoration and a gentleness that I deeply appreciate.
But I think that Stevens shines brightest with the last two parts of this collection. The poem “Notes on the Music I Never Heard” is a gorgeous composition comparing the musical traditions of his indigenous heritage and that of a lover of European ancestry. Within this poem Stevens weaves quotations from classical composers into his own prose, where many voices are joined in a symphony describing the joining of lovers and histories, and the pain and conflicting feelings that comes with such a union.
The last handful of poems is a celebration of native oral tradition, quoting from indigenous stories and playing off the Mohawk and Narragansett languages. “Three Translations from the Mohawk” is another piece inspired by music, this time rippling poetry out from drops of Mohawk songs. “Tokinish” tells the history of Roger Williams’ arrival in Rhode Island, quoting European writers and placing their writings against the Narragansett language. The poem discusses how language expresses differences in perception, and how language also defines who we are to others and to ourselves. It highlights how much has been lost due to a difference in language (land, trust, understanding, etc), and how loss in return leads to a loss of language and therefore a loss of history and culture.
My favorite thing about these few poems in the later half of the book was that they were more like collages. They joined traditions and arts from two very different worlds to speak to one single history and story. I love that in some places Stevens showcases similarities between indigenous American sentiments and European ones, and then also emphasizes the contrasts between the two in the same piece; we are joined in our humanity but separated by our cultures and experiences.
But I think that Stevens shines brightest with the last two parts of this collection. The poem “Notes on the Music I Never Heard” is a gorgeous composition comparing the musical traditions of his indigenous heritage and that of a lover of European ancestry. Within this poem Stevens weaves quotations from classical composers into his own prose, where many voices are joined in a symphony describing the joining of lovers and histories, and the pain and conflicting feelings that comes with such a union.
The last handful of poems is a celebration of native oral tradition, quoting from indigenous stories and playing off the Mohawk and Narragansett languages. “Three Translations from the Mohawk” is another piece inspired by music, this time rippling poetry out from drops of Mohawk songs. “Tokinish” tells the history of Roger Williams’ arrival in Rhode Island, quoting European writers and placing their writings against the Narragansett language. The poem discusses how language expresses differences in perception, and how language also defines who we are to others and to ourselves. It highlights how much has been lost due to a difference in language (land, trust, understanding, etc), and how loss in return leads to a loss of language and therefore a loss of history and culture.
My favorite thing about these few poems in the later half of the book was that they were more like collages. They joined traditions and arts from two very different worlds to speak to one single history and story. I love that in some places Stevens showcases similarities between indigenous American sentiments and European ones, and then also emphasizes the contrasts between the two in the same piece; we are joined in our humanity but separated by our cultures and experiences.