Ciara Lightner

November is here, and with it another chance to celebrate Native American Heritage Month. This month is dedicated to remembering the past, embracing the present, and thinking about how to improve the future of the generations of those that occupied these lands. These latest works take a look at these writers perspectives on their heritage and how we can try to make the world a better place for everyone.

My Life: Growing up Native in America is a collection of essays and poems written by individuals chronicling their own experiences as Native American children. All show a great understanding of how being a child and searching for identity is complicated by the world’s perception of native culture. They don’t shy away from intersectionality as well, how gender, sexuality, and additional racial identities impacted their upbringing. Each one shows a new perspective and shows how allowing varied voices to shine only adds to the dialog and does not take away from it.

Joseph Lee’s Nothing More of This Land: Community, Power, and the Search for Indigenous Identity is a book about where one finds home. The work recounts the history of the Wampanoag people who reside on the island known as Martha’s Vineyard. Lee spent his summers as a child on the island, attending camps focused on continuing cultural heritage and spending time with family. As the years pass, Lee wonders how this existence, being a part of a culture but not residing solely on cultural lands, affects one’s identity. Lee begins his contemplation, first through his own experiences, then his family’s, then his community’s. All of this in an attempt to understand how where you come from helps you to become who you are.

The incredibly hilarious Tiffany Midge is back with her latest work entitled The Dreamcatcher in the Wry. During the pandemic, when everything seemed frozen, Midge was not just observing the current state of our society, she was critiquing and tearing to shreds, literarily, of course. From animal attacks, to identity politics, to humans being unable to think of the greater good, Midge takes a look at it all and calls on us to reflect. The work is funny and timely and is a great perspective on the state of the world.

We Survived the Night by Julian Brave NoiseCat is not so much a memoir but a vulnerable reveal of the inner self. Working against the forced erasure of so much knowledge and history, NoiseCat traveled across the continent in order to reclaim what was lost. He highlights stories, myths, and the triumphs of a people that for so long were ignored. By reclaiming the narrative, NoiseCat is also able to strengthen his own voice and identity. Through his own personal struggles, he is able to gain insight into the strength of his community.

Visit your local library and give these books (and more) a read. Happy Native American Heritage Month!

–Ciara Lightner is a Library Specialist at A.K. Smiley Public Library.

Sometimes it’s best to take a pause and do some introspection. These works are the result of three authors taking the time to look inward and write unflinching accounts of what they found.

“I Want to Burn This Place Down: Essays” by Maris Kreizman is a look at what happens when the promises of good grades and dutiful rule-following fail to result in stability. Kreizman was raised to be a good child, fed the ideas that all her hard work would pay off in a well-paying job and a nice house. What occurred instead is confusion, instability, and being taken advantage of. And that is what happens to a lot of people. Kreizman faces her own precarious situation as a person with a chronic illness and shows how few protections there are. She writes how the world was never set up for people like her to succeed and the only way to amend it is to try to take care of each other. Yes, she wants to burn it down but in order to build something better in its place.

Aiden Arata’s “You Have a New Memory” is a look at the strange world that now exists between the physical world and the digital. Arata dives deep into the world of influencers and likens them to modern day grifters, creating illusions of health and wealth. She zeroes in on the genre of stay-at-home girlfriends and their shiny but precarious lifestyle. It isn’t all filters and poised shots though, there is the fact that we have begun using the internet as our external memory and moral compass while ceding our own abilities to modulate either. The work looks at how we have boiled down political belief from facts and deep soul searching to just going on vibes. It’s a thoughtful look at what we have gained from the digital world, and the price that we paid.

Rax King is definitely someone who knows who she is, including all the bad parts. In her latest work “Sloppy: or, Doing It All Wrong,” King reflects on her own behaviors, including lying, sobriety, and her issues with relationships. King explores the problematic but also sympathetic relationship with her parents, both fervent followers of the 12-step program. It impacts her future struggles of addiction and sobriety which now are under control, save for her love of shoplifting Brandy Melville items. She doesn’t shy away at looking at her own anger issues and how it affects those around her. King looks at the messy parts of what it means to be human and invites us to do the same.

Enjoy these books and more at your local library!

IT’S STILL PRIDE MONTH FOR A FEW MORE DAYS! So, let’s explore a personal favorite genre of mine: Queer Horror. The idea of horror quite frequently focuses on the out of the ordinary, or the thing that is out of place. And, when you grow up feeling the same way, it makes sense to identify with creatures like Frankenstein’s monster or Dracula, creatures that were not asked to be but are and must adapt to a world that is unwelcoming. In honor of pride month, here are some new works that exemplify the idea that what goes bump in the night isn’t always the thing you should fear.

The Starving Saints by Caitlin Starling is not for the faint of heart. Three women, Ser Voyne, a war hero, Phosyne, an ex-nun, and Treila, a survivor, are trapped within the walls of a sieged castle. Along with all the other town folk, soldiers, and king, they are barricaded within with dwindling supplies and no hope for rescue from the outside world. People are starving and the three women are out of time to find a solution. But a miracle happens and the patron saint of the city arrives, bringing food and salvation. But the three women do not see a happy ending coming, they believe tragedy has arrived. Visceral and dark, Starling creates another stellar horror entry.

In Hungerstone by Kat Dunn, Lenore has been married to steel works magnate Henry for ten years. She prides herself on being the model wife in spite of the loss of her parents at a young age and having to fight tooth and nail in order to secure a proper and convenient marriage. Henry, a man with money but no status, and Lenore, a woman with status but no money, find in each other a solution to their problems. After ten years though, the relationship wains as no children are produced and Lenore finds the confines of society are beginning to tighten. On the way to their new estate in Nethersaw, the pair meet the sickly and sickeningly beautiful Carmilla, whom Lenore endeavors to bring back to health. But deep secrets are revealed in Nethersaw and Lenore finds herself fighting for her life against foes outside as well as in. Gothic and alluring, Dunn reworks the story of Carmilla into a new sumptuous read.

Jo Kozak finds herself looking to standout in art school in Mallory Pearson’s Voice Like A Hyacinth. Jo is in the final year of art school along with her friends Caroline, Finch, Amrita, and Saz. The group is devoted to each other and take on an us vs. everyone else stance. The problem? The end of the year is capped off with a group showing and the best student of the year is given a chance to have a solo show, gain notoriety, and an almost guaranteed career. Only one will get the spot and with doubt and anxiety mounting, the friends turn to otherworldly means to improve their chances. But all things cost, and when their lecherous teacher is sacrificed for their benefit, the girls must reckon with their choices and fight to keep their friendship from being torn apart. Pearson’s work is reminder that the road of ambition is paved with blood, sweat, and tears.

None of those sound interesting? There are so many more, like Awakened by A.E. Osworth about a malicious AI and the coven of witches trying to stop it. Or The Lamb by Lucy Rose, a novel about a mother whose appetite for meat goes a little too far. So many wonderful books and so little time! Enjoy these books and remember the library is for everyone.

Since the world continues to spin on its axis, poetry month has arrived once more and once more do we explore new works of poetry. Poetry gives us a way to look at the world and the culture we find ourselves in. By reading poetry, we get a chance to hear things, not only new perspectives, but help to gain insights into ourselves that we might not have had the language to get to ourselves.

Doggerel is the latest work by the acclaimed Reginald Dwayne Betts. Betts, a formerly incarcerated person seeking to improve an unfair system, continues his work in this stellar volume. Betts is able to give us insight into the necessary attributes to survive in the prison system as a teenager. It is juxtaposed against the childhood his own children are going through, and how having an attendant father is a much different experience. Dogs feature heavily throughout, as they are the personification of companionship without judgement. Loyal and fierce, dogs show us how to love without ego. Betts’ work is another great example of how much we can learn by just listening to those we often render voiceless.

Tiana Clark’s Scorched Earth is about what comes after the end. After her divorce, Clark must face new realities and old wounds. On this journey of understanding, Clark explores not only herself but the idea of Black joy throughout history. Looking at how black bodies were abused in the past, Clark seeks to understand her own current situation and how self-acceptance is a form of rebellion. She also attempts to rectify her own Christian upbringing with her queerness and disconnection from a higher power. An exploration of black joy and sorrow, the work is an example of how healing can be a radical act.

Esther Lin’s Cold Thief Place is about a woman growing up undocumented in America after being born in Brazil to parents who immigrated from China. Esther’s parents found solace and a sense of community through Christianity but this in turn created an abusive dynamic for their children. Esther herself is pushed into a marriage for a green card mirroring her own parents’ relationship. The work also shows the sympathy of a child for their parents, not just seeing them as caretakers but the humans they are and the circumstances they faced on their own journeys. It is a brilliant work that strives to teach us that a status does not erase the person it is attached to.

Winter of Worship is the newest collection by Kayleb Rae Candrilli. Candrilli looks back at his life, reconciling his current identity with the identity he once held. Having experienced the loss of his father and multiple friends over the years, Candrilli holds their memories close and laments their continued absence. The author describes their recent journeys through the pandemic and the ever-increasing destruction caused by climate change and social upheaval. Candrilli seeks to enjoy the nostalgia of the past while remaining true to the events as they occurred.

Poetry month continues on so please enjoy these books and many more at A.K. Smiley Public Library.

Hello library users! February is African American History month! As all voices deserve a chance to be heard, here are some authors you may not have come across before but whose works leave a lasting impact.

Tricia Hersey’s latest work is “We Will Rest: The Art of Escape” which is the second of her ‘rest is resistance’ series. Today’s culture tends to be one of constant production, while Hersey sings the praises of rest. The work focuses on the fact that rest is not earned through labor but it is a right of all who exist. Resting is not only a way to honor ourselves but as an act of rebellion against a society that has taught us that our only value is in production. Hersey strives to reawaken our own connections to our own bodies as not just a tool for capitalism. Using prose and wood prints, Hersey shows that a higher plane of existence can be found in our own bed or couch.

You’ve heard of activists like Malcolm X, Thurgood Marshall, and Marcus Garvey, but what about Ella Baker, Barbara Johns, and Darnella Frazier? In Rita Omokha’s new work, “Resist: How a Century of Young, Black Activists Shaped America,” a light is shone on those activists that history has typically glossed over. The book maps out how these young people have affected not just their local communities but the country at large. Omokha is able to ground her narrative in her own experiences having traveled to over thirty states in thirty days and seeing how violence has affected these communities up close. The work is a reminder that even the youngest amongst us has a right to be heard.

Freda Epum is looking for home in her latest work, “The Gloomy Girl Variety Show.” She straddles the country of her parents and the country of her birth but never quite lands in either. Her belonging is further exacerbated by her mental disorders. Finding solace in the shows of HGTV and YouTube tours of apartments, Epum searches for her own place of belonging. Working with the literary tradition of autotheory and poetry, Epum delves within herself and into society as a whole. Art intersperses the work giving the readers another layer into the author’s mind and her journey to home.

“Between the Night and Its Music” is a compilation by the revered A.B. Spellman. Spellman is an author who came to prominence in the 1960’s and 70’s and who after a hiatus resumed his work in the 2000’s. The work features poems written before and after this break and shows how Spellman has evolved as a writer. The work displays Spellman’s love of music, specifically Jazz and Blues and has a distinct musicality. Spellman’s contemporary work is just as impactful as his earlier work and shows how he solidified his place as a component of the Black Arts Movement.

Happy African American History Month and remember that the library is for everybody!