Above the Line: New Poems

By Joseph Bruchac

These poems of close observation and passionate feeling deeply reflect Joseph Bruchac's Abenaki Indian heritage. Like Thoreau, he is a scrupulous student of nature. Uniquely, however, he brings his own cultural concerns to every observation--not only about preservation of a vulnerable ecology, but about keeping cultural continuity and reaffirming tradition. So many things are observed in this fine collection: an ancient village ruin and a local car wash; kingfishers and red-tail hawks in flight; burial places and a cedar flute. In The Last Elms he laments the attack of Dutch elm disease on these stately trees but affirms their continued existence as well: Each spring I salvage elm branches and small trees cut by roadside crews clearing power lines. From their bark my sons and I make rattles and baskets, trays and bowls. And I know that somewhere in the forest a few tall elms remain. This is vintage Bruchac, a voice of hope and promise in a dark time.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0970534485
• ISBN13: 9780970534484
• Release Date: December 2003
• Publisher: West End Press
• Length: 72 Pages
• Weight: 0.22 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.2" x 5.6" x 8.7"