Whereas by Layli Long Soldier

Whereas by Layli Long Soldier is a collection of poems in 2 major parts, “These Being the Concerns” and “Whereas”. The poems are varied in style: prose poems, longer narratives, smaller fragment-like lyrics and concrete poetry. Long Soldier uses the language of the United States government in response to that government, drawing on treaties, apologies and other responses to Native people and tribes. The book investigates personal, ancestral and institutional language and the intersections between all of these.

There is a short Notes section at the back of the book listing source materials.

purchase: https://www.indiebound.org/book/9781555977672?aff=GraywolfWebsite

a review: https://www.kenyonreview.org/reviews/whereas-by-layli-long-soldier-738439/

an excerpt: https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poetrymagazine/poems/91697/from-whereas

a talk given by Long Soldier about the book and related projects: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ayq9ILIVZ2Y