‘Manifestation Wolverine” highlights Meskwaki poet’s career

Ray Young Bear has been writing poetry for over 45 years and publishing it for nearly as long, but the Meskwaki author and poet isn't ready to retire, no matter what the title of his latest book implies.

'Manifestation Wolverine: the Collected Poetry of Ray Young Bear,' released Oct. 27 by Open Road Media, compiles three of his earlier volumes of poetry along with new work.

A lifelong resident of the Meskwaki Settlement near Tama, his career has included the three earlier volumes of poetry, 'Winter of the Salamander' (1980), 'The Invisible Musician' (1990), and 'The Rock Island Hiking Club' (2001), as well as two novels, 'Black Eagle Child: The Facepaint Narratives' (1995), and 'Remnants of the First Earth' (1998). A recipient of a grant from the National Endowment for the Arts, his work also has been published in numerous magazines and anthologies, including the 'New Yorker,' the 'Iowa Review,' and 'Best American Poetry.'

He said he initially resisted the idea of doing a collected works edition now, because he hopes to have more work in the future. Still, the volume provides recognition of all he's achieved so far.

Going back and revisiting his first poems for this book was an interesting experience, to say the least, he said. He had to fight the urge to rewrite his early work.

'You get to read your stuff over again that was published in 1969 and relive life at 21 and then at 30. You get to see your life again in stages,' he said. 'After 45 years, it's too late, you can't go back and rewrite that.'

He said poetry often emerges from not being afraid to delete and revise. A 10-page essay becomes a three-page poem, for example. His writing style has evolved over time along with his perspective. He used to hunt for the most obscure words, the most flowery way to express a thought. Not anymore.

'I thought my role was to collect words. That mission to use words as much as I can has pretty much dwindled to simplicity,' he said. 'It was enjoyable, but if you're having to make the reader work, you're losing the point. You have to figure out, who is your work going to reach? Now I simplify. I'm going back and filling in the gaps where creativity should have gone.'

When writing, he said poems often start in his head in Meskwaki, then get translated into English as he puts them to paper. Sometimes he translates them back again, for poems that switch between his two languages. His goal is to someday compose a book entirely in Meskwaki.

Growing up, his family spoke Meskwaki at home, but he never learned to write it. His newest volume includes a disclaimer that his written Meskwaki may not be grammatically perfect. He said he's glad children in the Meskwaki Settlement School District are being taught their own language today.

'One side of me hopes people enjoy my work but also understand the complexities of writing poetry in English but from a Meskwaki or Native American perspective,' he said. 'I am a bilingual, bicultural writer first before being an American writer. I would like to become someone who is recognized as someone who writes in his language.'

He is also working on the continuing story of Edward Bear Child, the protagonist of his first two novels. At 64-years-old, he's not planning to stop writing anytime soon. Writing, he said, helps keep him young.

'Constant engagement with linguistics keeps my brain active,' he said. 'Writing makes you think like crazy.'

Many of the ideas behind his poems come while sitting in his recliner, in the house he shares with his wife, Stella Young Bear, whom he calls his No. 1 editor.

'The Lazy Boy serves as the intermediary to the supernatural,' he said.

Other ideas come on long walks, or when interacting with his children. A grasshopper landing on his leg may stick in his mind, for example, or the passing phrase uttered by a child. Those moments evolves into poetry, he said.

'Something might seem meaningless at first, but four years later you realize it's a poem,' he said. 'If I can provide insights into nature and the human condition — even if only for a few seconds — that's the whole role of being a poet.'

Book reading

What: Ray Young Bear will read from 'Manifestation Wolverine'

Where: Prairie Lights Books, 15 S. Dubuque St., Iowa City

When: 7 p.m. Friday