Louise!... is Zahgidiwin

Louise at 2009 Dartmouth speech.

The thing is; when you are writing you have a chance to properly ponder things before placing them at the feet of your reader to be considered...or not.  On the other hand, when you are speaking you can easily say something stupid and splash the words awkwardly toward your listener while perhaps dribbling something on your shirt in the process.  As it happens I am really good at the latter.  For example, I have this annoying propensity to state the obvious. I will just spit it out then immediately regret it as the look from my listener(s) says; "So, you really think I'm stupid eh?" 

Anyway, this little story isn't about me. It's about someone who can put it out there just right whether written or verbal. It's about you and a writer who is there for you to treasure if you haven't already done so.  

As a little background, you may already know that I enjoy writing as a hobby. What you don't know is; in comparison Louise makes me feel like a church mouse at the foot of the altar in Saint Peter's basilica.   That is why we are here today Ladies and Gentlemen... to inadequately review some of the works of Louise Erdrich. 

As it happens (and this is really cool...to me that is) Louise and I are two of 30,000 or so enrolled members of the Turtle Mountain Band of the Chippewa Tribe.  Most (many?) of the tribe are mixed blood "Metis"; the most common being French and Indian.  My grandmother and grandfather on my Mother's (Chippewa Princess) side were both half French and half Chippewa. Louise, on the other hand is half German and half Chippewa, or so her bio says.  She is also an extraordinary mind and will totally engage you if you dare to read one of her many best selling books.  

I have known about Louise for quite sometime as many years ago a dear friend (Thanks May U.! - I am sorry I didn't pay more attention back then.) suggested I read some of her work.  I held off because I incorrectly thought I would be reading a lot of spiritual "Today is a good day to die"  stuff and that is not my interest. Instead, I have encountered a brilliant, imaginative novelist who provides sparkling details about the love, hate, sex, primitive details and beauty of day-to-day-life. She has also exposed me to enough of the Ojibwa (Chippewa) language and gritty reality to help me feel like I am right there in each of her stories.

While I have only read three of her books thus far, permit me to suggest that you begin with "The Last Report On The Miracles At Little No Horse."  You will be hooked immediately in the Prologue as you learn the origins of Father Damien.  You will get caught up over and over again in passages such as those about the "naked woman playing Chopin", the moose and canoe and the remarkable loves of Agnes Dewitt.  When finished, you may also agree with me; it is a stark, sensuous story that would make a great movie for the ages.  Two others I have read and loved so far; the "Plague of Doves" and "Love Medicine."  Thankfully, I have many more to look forward to.

And now, here is a little pearl from Louise I just discovered, her 2009 Dartmouth commencement speech... short but sweet!  Even if you don't get to one of her books check it out. 

Great Grandmother and Father Dubois

Thank you Louise and my apologies...you deserve a lot better reviews than this one but there is no professional reviewer out there who could do you justice anyway.

Finally, just to bring it all closer to home, the photo to the right is of my great grandfather and grandmother Dubois. It was taken somewhere in the Dakotas on what appears to be a nice day sometime around the turn of the century.  Can you guess which is French and which is Chippewa? 

From the stern look of admonishment (?) on their faces, I would suggest they are both looking directly at me and have been considerably sobered by what I have become.  But then the more I think about it... it is probably my son Tyler they are looking at... or both!  (If you click once on the photo, it might enlarge to full scale... notice Tyler and Samantha's great great grand daddy is wearing coveralls along with his snappy white shirt, tie and vest!  Could be a fashion trend for Ty to set when he is on stage!)