From our land to our land : essays, journeys, and imaginings and musings from a native Xicanx writer

"Luis J. Rodriguez writes about race, culture, identity, and belonging and what these all mean and should mean (but often fail to) in the volatile climate of our nation. Rodriguez has a distinctly inspiring passion and wisdom in his approach. Ultimately, the book carries the message that we must come together if we are to move forward. As he reminds us in the first essay, "The End of Belonging," "I'm writing as a Native person. I'm writing as a poet. I'm writing as a revolutionary working class organizer and thinker who has traversed life journeys from which incredible experiences, missteps, plights, and victories have marked the way. . . . I belong anywhere." The pieces in From Our Land to Our Land capture that same fantastic energy and wisdom and will spark conversation and inspiration"--;Preface: another world is possible -- The end of belonging -- The four key connections -- Nemachtilli: the spirit of learning, The spirit of teaching -- Constant state of pregnancy -- Poet laureate? Poet illiterate? what? -- I still love H.E.R. -- "Low & slow" in Tokyo -- Prickly pear cactus: experiencing Los Angeles with other eyes -- Monsters of our own making -- Men's tears -- Dancing the race and identity mambo -- The story of our day. Essays on race, culture, and identity, Native Americans, the Latinx community, and more from the prolific writer, activist, bookseller, and LA's poet laureate. A collection of powerful pieces on race, culture, identity and belonging and what these all mean and should mean (but often fail to) in the volatile climate of our nation. Rodriguez has a distinctly inspiring passion and wisdom in his approach as he writes about current political and cultural unrest, about his own compelling background, and about his vision for America's future. Ultimately, the book carries the message that we must come together if we are to move forward. He reminds us in the first essay, The End of Belonging, "I'm writing as a Native person. I'm writing as a poet. I'm writing as a revolutionary working class organizer and thinker who has traversed life journeys from which incredible experiences, missteps, plights, and victories have marked the way.... I belong anywhere." The pieces in The Story of Our Day capture that same, fantastic energy and wisdom and will spark conversation and inspiration. "Luis J. Rodriguez writes about race, culture, identity, and belonging and what these all mean and should mean (but often fail to) in the volatile climate of our nation. Rodriguez has a distinctly inspiring passion and wisdom in his approach. Ultimately, the book carries the message that we must come together if we are to move forward. As he reminds us in the first essay, "The End of Belonging," "I'm writing as a Native person. I'm writing as a poet. I'm writing as a revolutionary working class organizer and thinker who has traversed life journeys from which incredible experiences, missteps, plights, and victories have marked the way. . . . I belong anywhere." The pieces in From Our Land to Our Land capture that same fantastic energy and wisdom and will spark conversation and inspiration"-- Provided by publisher Luis J. Rodriguez writes about race, culture, identity, and belonging and what these all mean and should mean (but often fail to) in the volatile climate of our nation. His passion and wisdom inspire us with the message that we must come together if we are to move forward. As he writes in the preface, “Like millions of Americans, I’m demanding a new vision, a qualitatively different direction, for this country. One for the shared well-being of everyone. One with beauty, healing, poetry, imagination, and truth.” The pieces in From Our Land to Our Land capture that same fantastic energy and wisdom and will spark conversation and inspiration.