Ceremonies Of The Damned: Poems

by Adrian C. Louis

The world of acclaimed Native American poet Adrian Louis is harsh and full of pain—the blizzard-blasted plains and dusty towns of the northern Midwest, the hopeless barrenness of the Reservation, and a bleak interior world of loss, illness, and despair. Louis’s poems bring us to a place where ghosts hitchhike and the traditional pow-wow becomes an affirmation of bitter survival, where the lives of the young end too often in acts of meaningless self-destruction, and where his own existence becomes a daily battle with his cherished wife’s decline into the dementia of Alzheimer’s disease. Louis is a writer of extraordinary courage and skill, and these powerful, moving poems, wrested from the harsh experience of the Rez and his own lonely struggle with a merciless illness, will awe their readers with their brilliance and desperate humanity.

Genres: Poetry, Indigenous, Ghosts

71 pages, Paperback

First published September 1, 1997

About the author

Adrian C. Louis is a Lovelock Paiute author from Nevada now living on the Pine Ridge Reservation in South Dakota. He has taught at Oglala Lakota College. His novel Skins (1995) discusses reservation life and issues such as poverty, alcoholism, and social problems and was the basis for the 2002 film, Skins. He has also published books of poetry and a collection of short stories, Wild Indians and Other Creatures (1996). His work is noted for its realism.

Reviews

[Patricia Killelea · Rating 5 out of 5]

one of the best books of poems i've read in a long, long time. wow.

[Karen · Rating 4 out of 5]

I went to school with Adrian. His words, when they concern Nevada, resonate with honesty and reality. All of the poems here, though, speak from his experiences in this county.

[Jessica Robinson · Rating 4 out of 5]

There’s some strong stuff here, especially concerning the author’s wife and her struggles with Alzheimer's. I appreciated that he wasn’t trying to show his best face when talking about how her disease impacted their lives. Alzheimer’s sucks and there’s no sugarcoating that.

[grub · Rating 5 out of 5]

the best book i read for class so far. devastating. amazing mix of today and the past

[Johnny Cordova · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of my favorite books by one of my favorite poets.

[Patrice · Rating 3 out of 5]

I had the opportunity to meet Adrian C. Louis when he came to Juneau in 2003 for a lecture series at our local university. I feel better for having heard him read his work.

This is a gorgeous and complicated collection of poems. Many are written in a long-winded prose style, and not unlike short stories. Louis writes about the complexity and banality of life in middle age. The heart break of learning to live with a partner with alzheimer's disease. Some of his poems read like an elegy for alcohol, something he has given up. His poems illuminate the world of middle America, South Dakota and life on a reservation.

One of my favorite piece of the collection can be heard in the form of a a song on Buddy Tabor's album "Earth and the Sky". The poem stands on it own, with or without music.

This is the Rez

This is the Rez.
Many times the luminous legions
of night driving cars
will only have one headlight.
These are the notorious "one-eyed Fords."
Sometimes driving a deserted stretch
in the black crow night, a black car
with no headlights at all will roar
past you at a hundred miles an hour.

Then you will know that this is the Rez.
Wild Indian ghost cars and more.
Wild Indian ghost cars and less.

Skin memories fading.
Skin memories being created.
Love impossible. Love still possible.

[Adeline · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of the best books of poetry yet! My teacher gave this book to me and I read it in one night. It's absolutely intriguing. It's filled with deep meanings and emotional trauma from the past and present on Native American Indian reservations.

[Carrie · Rating 4 out of 5]

loni anderson. yay!