The University of Arizona Press
Heather Cahoon will discuss her work and read from her new collection of poetry, Horsefly Dress, followed by questions and answers.
Thursday, October 1, 2020, 5 p.m. Pacific Time
This online event is free, but registration is required. Please go here to register.
The event is co-hosted by Fact & Fiction Books, Birchbark Books and Native Arts, and the University of Arizona Press. To order a signed personalized copy of Horsefly Dress, please visit here. To order from Birchbark, please visit here.
By weaving together stories of Heather Cahoon’s family and tribal community with those of Coyote and his family, especially Coyote’s daughter, Horsefly Dress, the interactions and shared experiences show the continued relevance of traditional Séliš and Qĺispé culture to contemporary life. Rich in the imagery of autumnal foliage, migrating birds, and frozen landscapes, Horsefly Dress calls forth the sensory experience of grief and transformation. As the stories and poems reveal, the transformative powers associated with the human experience of loss belong to the past, present, and future, as do the traditional Salish-Pend d’Oreille stories that create the backbone of this intricate collection.
Author:
Heather Cahoon, PhD, earned her MFA in poetry from the University of Montana, where she was the Richard Hugo Scholar. She has received a Potlatch Fund Native Arts Grant and Montana Arts Council Artist Innovation Award. Her chapbook, Elk Thirst, won the Merriam-Frontier Prize. She is an assistant professor of Native American studies at the University of Montana. She is from the Flathead Reservation and is a member of the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes.
