Duane Niatum (McGinniss) is a Native American poet, author and playwright from the
Jamestown S'Klallam Tribe in the northern Olympic Peninsula of the state of Washington. Niatum's work draws inspiration from all aspects of life ranging from nature, art, Native American history and humans rights. Niatum is often cited as belonging to the second wave of what
critic Kenneth Lincoln has termed the
Native American Renaissance The Native American Renaissance is a term originally coined by critic Kenneth Lincoln in the 1983 book ''Native American Renaissance'' to categorise the significant increase in production of literary works by Native Americans in the United States in ...
.
Early life and education
Born in 1938 in
Seattle
Seattle ( ) is a seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the seat of King County, Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in both the state of Washington and the Pacific Northwest regio ...
, Washington
to a Klallam (Salish) mother and Italian-American father, Niatum struggled with his mixed Indigenous and Italian heritage which would trouble him for years. After his parents' divorce when Niatum was four years old, Niatum's
Klallam
Klallam (also Clallam, although the spelling with "K" is preferred in all four modern Klallam communities) refers to four related indigenous Native American/First Nations communities from the Pacific Northwest of North America. The Klallam cult ...
grandfather became his surrogate father, which would leave a lasting impression as he would pass on the Klallam tribe's oral tradition which would later become intertwined into his writing.
At the age of 17, Niatum enlisted in the
United States Navy
The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...
, which sent him to Japan. After his military service, Niatum studied with the poets
Theodore Roethke
Theodore Huebner Roethke ( ; May 25, 1908 – August 1, 1963) was an American poet. He is regarded as one of the most accomplished and influential poets of his generation, having won the Pulitzer Prize for poetry in 1954 for his book ''The Wa ...
and
Elizabeth Bishop
Elizabeth Bishop (February 8, 1911 – October 6, 1979) was an American poet and short-story writer. She was Consultant in Poetry to the Library of Congress from 1949 to 1950, the Pulitzer Prize winner for Poetry in 1956, the National Book Awar ...
at the
University of Washington
The University of Washington (UW, simply Washington, or informally U-Dub) is a public research university in Seattle, Washington.
Founded in 1861, Washington is one of the oldest universities on the West Coast; it was established in Seattl ...
, where he earned his B.A. in English. He went on to earn an M.A. at
Johns Hopkins University
Johns Hopkins University (Johns Hopkins, Hopkins, or JHU) is a private research university in Baltimore, Maryland. Founded in 1876, Johns Hopkins is the oldest research university in the United States and in the western hemisphere. It consi ...
and a Ph.D. from the
University of Michigan
, mottoeng = "Arts, Knowledge, Truth"
, former_names = Catholepistemiad, or University of Michigania (1817–1821)
, budget = $10.3 billion (2021)
, endowment = $17 billion (2021)As o ...
, where he studied American culture.
His dissertation focused on the life and art of the Aleut sculptor
John Hoover.
Career
Niatum established himself as one of the most influential promoters of Native American poetry when he served as editor of a Native American author series at
Harper & Row Publishers, where he edited two influential anthologies: ''Carriers of the Dream Wheel: Contemporary Native American Poetry'' (1975) and ''Harper's Anthology of 20th Century Native American Poetry'' (1988).
["The Art of Survival", ''Raven Chronicles'', David L. Moore](_blank)
He has published numerous essays on Native American literature, and his own poetry has been translated into more than a dozen languages.
Niatum has said his greatest influences include his Klallam grandfather and literary mentors
Theodore Roethke
Theodore Huebner Roethke ( ; May 25, 1908 – August 1, 1963) was an American poet. He is regarded as one of the most accomplished and influential poets of his generation, having won the Pulitzer Prize for poetry in 1954 for his book ''The Wa ...
,
Elizabeth Bishop
Elizabeth Bishop (February 8, 1911 – October 6, 1979) was an American poet and short-story writer. She was Consultant in Poetry to the Library of Congress from 1949 to 1950, the Pulitzer Prize winner for Poetry in 1956, the National Book Awar ...
, and
John Keats.
In the preface to his 2000 book ''The Crooked Beak of Love'', Niatum described the impact of his mixed ancestry on his life and work: "My aesthetic position has always been to learn and grow from whatever sources of knowledge are available...Art continues to offer the opportunity of surviving in both worlds no matter how challenging that may become at times." He also explained his grandfather's influence on his writing: "My grandfather's life and stories became the touchstones of my life and art. The center of my artistic self starts from his home and his parents' home which was almost on the beach."
Niatum has taught at Seattle-area high schools as well as colleges and universities including
The Evergreen State College
The Evergreen State College is a public liberal arts college in Olympia, Washington. Founded in 1967, it offers a non-traditional undergraduate curriculum in which students have the option to design their own study towards a degree or follow a p ...
, the
University of Washington
The University of Washington (UW, simply Washington, or informally U-Dub) is a public research university in Seattle, Washington.
Founded in 1861, Washington is one of the oldest universities on the West Coast; it was established in Seattl ...
,
Pacific Lutheran University
Pacific Lutheran University (PLU) is a private Lutheran university in Parkland, Washington. It was founded by Norwegian Lutheran immigrants in 1890. PLU is sponsored by the 580 congregations of Region I of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Ame ...
,
Western Washington University
Western Washington University (WWU or Western) is a public university in Bellingham, Washington. The northernmost university in the contiguous United States, WWU was founded in 1893 as the state-funded New Whatcom Normal School, succeeding a pri ...
, and the
University of Michigan
, mottoeng = "Arts, Knowledge, Truth"
, former_names = Catholepistemiad, or University of Michigania (1817–1821)
, budget = $10.3 billion (2021)
, endowment = $17 billion (2021)As o ...
.
Books
* ''Earth Vowels'' Mongrel Empire, 2017.
* ''The Pull of the Green Kite'' Seattle, WA: Serif & Pixel Press, 2011
* ''Agate Songs on the Path of Red Cedar: Poems'' Sequim, WA : Jamestown S'Klallam Tribe, c2011
* ''Journeys That Criss-cross Darkness and Light: Poems''
acoma, WA: D. Niatum, 004?/nowiki>
* ''Nesting Out for Stars, and Other Stories'' [Bellingham, WA : D. Niatum, 2002
* ''The crooked beak of love'' Albuquerque, N.M.: West End Press (2000)
* ''Stories from the land of red cedar'' Seattle (1999)
* ''Learning to Live With Darkness Like the Crows'' [Seattle: D. Niatum, 1994?]
* ''Drawings of the Song Animals: New and Selected Poems''. Duluth, Minnesota: Holy Cow! Press (1991)
* ''Harper's Anthology of Twentieth-Century Native American Poetry'' San Francisco: Harper & Row (1988)
* ''Stories of the Moons'' Marvin, SD: Blue Cloud Quarterly Press (1987)
* ''Raven and the Fear of Growing White'' Amsterdam, Holland: Bridge Press (1983)
* ''Pieces'' New York: Strawberry Press (1981)
* ''Songs for the Harvester of Dreams'' Seattle, WA: University of Washington Press (1981)
* ''To Bridge the Dream'' Laguna, NM: A Press (1978)
* ''Digging out the roots: poems'' New York: Harper & Row (1977)
* ''Turning to the Rhythms of Her Song'' Seattle, WA: Jawbone Press (1977)
* ''Carriers of the Dream Wheel: Contemporary Native American Poetry.'' Harper & Row (1975)
* ''A Cycle for the Woman in the Field''. Laughing Man Press (1973)
* ''Ascending Red Cedar Moon'', New York: Harper & Row (1973)
* ''Taos Pueblo and Other Poems''. Greenfield Center, NY: Greenfield Review Press (1973)
* ''After the Death of an Elder Klallam'' Phoenix, AZ: Baleen Press (1970)
* ''Breathless'' Seattle, WA: University of Washington (1968)
Essays
*
Anthologies
*
*
Awards and honors
Niatum has been nominated for a Pushcart Prize four times, been awarded residencies at Yaddo
Yaddo is an artists' community located on a estate in Saratoga Springs, New York. Its mission is "to nurture the creative process by providing an opportunity for artists to work without interruption in a supportive environment.". On March  ...
and Millay Colony for the Arts, and received grants from the Carnegie Fund for Authors and the PEN Fund for Writers.
He has also received the following awards:
* American Book Award
The American Book Award is an American literary award that annually recognizes a set of books and people for "outstanding literary achievement". According to the 2010 awards press release, it is "a writers' award given by other writers" and "the ...
(1982)
* First Prize - Poetry. Pacific Northwest Writers Conference. (1966), (1970)
* Poetry in Motion Grant Award
* Nelson Bentley Award, Department of English, University of Washington
The University of Washington (UW, simply Washington, or informally U-Dub) is a public research university in Seattle, Washington.
Founded in 1861, Washington is one of the oldest universities on the West Coast; it was established in Seattl ...
(1982)
* Lifetime Achievement Award from the Native Writers Circle of the Americas (2017)
References
External links
"Duane Niatum", ''nativewiki''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Niatum, Duane
1938 births
Living people
Native American poets
Klallam people
University of Washington College of Arts and Sciences alumni
Johns Hopkins University alumni
University of Michigan alumni
American Book Award winners
Native American academics
Writers from Seattle
Poets from Washington (state)
American writers of Italian descent
United States Navy sailors
Native American United States military personnel