Book Description
This audio CD is a bilingual collection in O'odham and English. All of the poems originated in the O'odham language. Written Tohono O'odham is a relatively new phenomenon; For the most part, the Tohono O'odham language is still an oral language. The poems in this collection include pieces about basic phenomena of the desert such as rains and rainclouds and how some O'odham respond to the infrequency of these events. Some pieces are about the poverty that some O'odham people think they have--those that wish to be like others who have satin blouses, or who mask themselves in pretty scents. Still other poems are about desert animals and how I have seen them behave...finally, I write about journeys, again relying on O'odham oral tradition, where the journey is an important event. --Ofelia Zepeda

About the Author
Ofelia Zepeda is Tohono O'dham. She was born and raised in the rural farming community of Stanfield, Arizona, just west of Casa Grande. Her poetry reflects both worlds, that of her parents, and her own as a moder O'odham. Her other collection of poetry is _Ocean Power: Poems from the Desert_ (1995). Ofelia lives in Tucson, Arizona, where she teaches at the University of Arizona.