Description
Surveying and geography underpin the collection, but even as Da' investigates these signifiers of measurement, she pushes the reader to interrogate their function within the stark atrocities of American history. Da' laments this harsh dichotomy, observing that America's mathematical point of beginning is located in the heart of her tribe's homeland: "I do not have the Shawnee words to describe this place; the notation that is available to me is 40°38´32.61´´ N 80°31´9.76´´ W."
Product Details
| Publisher | University of Arizona Press |
| Publish Date | October 30, 2018 |
| Pages | 88 |
| Language | English |
| Type |  Paperback / softback |
| EAN/UPC | 9780816538270 |
| Dimensions | 8.8 X 5.9 X 0.3 inches | 0.3 pounds |
About the Author
Reviews
"[Instruments of the True Measure] achieves an almost claustrophobic coherence as Da' elaborates a metaphoric system that binds arithmetic, cartography, Indian removal, and personal legacy."--Publishers Weekly
"Laura Da' aligns 'cross-hatchings on a map' with blood memory to create a cartography of resistance. Da's vivid poems awaken startling clarity in understanding American history's imprint upon our bodies--and that we, too, are 'quartered' by its wrath. Instruments of the True Measure is a necessary journey, a must-read."--Sherwin Bitsui
"Da' juxtaposes birth, removal, loss, illness, and survival with linguistic precision, carrying us deep into the story of America's beginning in a wholly new way."--Karenne Wood
"'Negotiating these phantom obliterations on map vellum' along the lines where Tecumseh stamped earthquake fault, sure, Da' delivers a poetic sincere to the equations of time, space, place, and footing on this immaculate journey in soul-shaking, killer verse. Looking for a contender? This is it."--Allison Adelle Hedge Coke
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