by Marissa Juarez
Daily Lobo
As many of us as college students know, there is nothing better than a visit home now and then and for author and poet Simon Ortiz, his trip to Albuquerque on Thursday will be just that -- a return home.
Born in Albuquerque in the early '40s, Ortiz grew up in the Acoma Pueblo community just west of the city. Much of his writing, which he says "focuses on issues, concerns, and responsibilities American Indians must have for the land, culture and community," has been shaped by his childhood experiences. He writes literary songs of praise to his culture and heritage.
After attending the Bureau of Indian Affairs schools in McCartys, N.M., and St. Catherine's Indian School in Santa Fe, Ortiz went to work in the Uranium mining industry in Grants, N.M.
He began to realize the degenerating effects the mining industry had on the workers and the land. He went on to pursue a college degree, attending Ft. Lewis College, UNM and the University of Iowa. He received a master's in Fine Arts from the University of Iowa's Writers' Workshop in 1969. Ortiz has taught at numerous institutions, including UNM, and is an attending professor at the University of Toronto.
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In the midst of all his schooling and experiences, Ortiz somehow managed to become an esteemed writer with as many as 15 publications under his belt. He has won several awards in recognition of his writing, including a Discovery Award from the National Endowment for the Arts in 1969, the Pushcart Prize for Poetry in 1981 and the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Native Writers' Circle of the Americas in 1993.
He also received an Honorary Doctorate of Letters from UNM in 2002.
While he is best known for his poetry, he has also written short stories, essays and children's books.
His writing contains exquisite images that employ a dynamic use of language -- he examines the natural world and political principles.
In one of his works, Woven Stone, he writes, "As an Aacqumeh hahtrudzai and a writer, I believe that being real in a real world is loving and respecting myself. This I believe has always been the true and real vision of Indigenous People of the Americas: to love, respect, and be responsible to ourselves and others, and to behold with passion and awe the wonders and bounty and beauty of creation and the world around us."
In a recent interview with the University of Toronto Press, Ortiz talked about the importance of speaking -- of informing college students of the significance of a culturally-centered creative progression.
"The native voice in the Americas is a necessary voice in the universities," Ortiz said. "People are social beings and the university is a locale where people can interact."
While Ortiz continues to fulfill his duties as a writer, he never fails to neglect the roles he has as a professor and as a member of the native community.
"Making language familiar and accessible to others, bringing it within their grasp and comprehension, is what a writer, teacher and storyteller does or tries to do," Ortiz said. "I've been trying for 30 years."
Fortunately for him, practice makes perfect.
Ortiz' homecoming will bring him to the University campus, where he will be a guest speaker in the Native American Studies Spring 2003 Lecture Series. His discourse on Thursday evening begins at 6:30 p.m., in Mitchell Hall, Room 122, and is entitled "Continuance in the 21st Century." This speech will focus on American Indian cultural continuance and the preservation of a national identity. There will be a reception and discussion preceding the lecture.
On Friday, Feb. 7, Ortiz will give a poetry reading from 6-8 p.m., in Dane Smith Hall, Room 120, with a reception an hour before the reading begins.
