Composer’s Note:

Throughout her books of poetry, Linda Hogan writes in relationship with her family and ancestors. As a Native American woman of the Chickasaw Nation, Hogan speaks of inheriting trauma and harsh judgements of the self and body”that there’s a lot of darkness and pain and dismembering”yet she never succumbs to pessimism. Instead, she offers the honest truth of an adulterated and displaced people. But that all is not lost for we have also inherited connection and strength and love and kindness from all those before us.

I relate with and carry much of this sentiment and philosophy as a Black American man. I think of all the rich traits I am given from the people and the earth before me. In writing this piece, the questions remaining, then, were: how can we remember? And how can we sustain?