Earth Keeper: Reflections on the American Land

In a short but satisfying series of essays, Pulitzer-winning fiction writer and poet Momaday (The Death of Sitting Bear) celebrates and mourns the Earth. Using lyrical, heartfelt language, he looks back on a life lived close to nature, and on the joy that natural wonders have given him: of seeing the Northern Lights, for example, he writes that “great ribbons of dancing light unraveled on the snowy sky, and a great shiver of color enveloped the dome of the earth.” He also expresses concern about how the Earth will fare after he is gone, lamenting that “we humans have done the damage, and we must be held to account.” To address ecological degradation, and the resultant “poverty of the imagination” afflicting society, he leans into spiritual consolation rather than pragmatic solutions. In particular, he appeals to the traditions of his Indigenous people, the Kiowa, recalling a holy man’s prayer to the Sun he heard as a child: “Give us one more day, and one more, and at last one more.” At a time when bad news is in plentiful supply, readers will find Momaday’s words refreshing and comforting in their sincerity. (Nov.)