77 Fragments of a Familiar Ruin

Thomas King, born in 1943, is a prolific writer of Greek and Cherokee descent.  77 Fragments is his first book of poetry after writing The Inconvenient Indian and many novels and short stories.  King’s poems are brief but powerful, with an elegiac feel as he portrays the horrors of planetary degradation and political betrayal, often using mythic characters.  Here is #1: “As for the garden, Adam, after the fall.  Make no mistake he said, he will destroy it all.”

Some of my favourites are a series of poems about Coyote going to see social services, the doctor, and other representatives of western culture, who examine Coyote to diagnose his problems such as “adverse childhood experiences” then present misguided solutions. With brief responses, Mischievous Coyote shows the ridiculousness of their offensive diagnoses.  Of course, this is a hilarious yet tragic commentary on the Indigenous situation, presented in few but powerful words.

Even poetry non readers will find this an engaging and thought-provoking book,