Life Is a Fatal Disease

Selected Poems 1962-1995

Paula Gunn Allen

This collection of eighty-seven poems richly reflects the experience of its author, invoking myth and history, tragedy and comedy, narrative and lyric, nightmare and the clear light of day. Allen works in a great tradition of storytelling and education, delight-making and argument to bring a multitude of people, places, and situations before us. Particularly compelling is the variety of her poetic skills: her rich references, her lyrical flights, and—always—her earnest and compassionate voice. The poems are arranged in an intuitive fashion reflecting Allen’s passion for storytelling.

From beyond time,
beyond oak trees and bright clear water flow,
she was given the work of weaving the strands
of her body, her pain, her vision
into creation, and the gift of having created,
to disappear.

After her,
the women and the men weave blankets into tales of life,
memories of light and ladders,
infinity-eyes, and rain.
After her I sit on my laddered rain-bearing rug
and mend the tear with string.

             —from “Grandmother”

6 x 9 inches • 198 pages • ISBN 0-931122-85-6 • $16.95