The Way to Rainbow Mountain by Susan Deer Cloud
Available online at Barnes and Noble and Amazon
Susan Deer Cloud, a mixed lineage Catskill Indian, is an alumna of Goddard College (MFA) and Binghamton University (B.A. and M.A.). She has taught Creative Writing, Rhetoric and Literature at Binghamton University and Broome Community College. In April 2013 she returned to her “heart country” Catskills to dwell once more with foxes, deer, black bears, rainbow trout, bald eagles, and the ghosts of panthers and ancestors. She now lives as a full-time mountain woman, dreamer and writer in between roaming on Turtle Island and in other lands.
Deer Cloud is the recipient of various awards and fellowships, including an Elizabeth George Foundation Grant, a National Endowment for the Arts Literature Fellowship, two New York State Foundation for the Arts Fellowships, and a Chenango County Council for the Arts Individual Artist’s Grant. Some of her books are Before Language and Hunger Moon (Shabda Press); Fox Mountain, The Last Ceremony and Car Stealer (FootHills Publishing); and Braiding Starlight (Split Oak Press). Her poems, stories and essays have been published in anthologies and journals too numerous to name.
In order to get out “the voices of the voiceless,” the poet has edited three published anthologies: multicultural Confluence and Native American anthologies I Was Indian (Before Being Indian Was Cool), Volumes I & II; the 2008 Spring Issue of Yellow Medicine Review, a Journal of Indigenous Literature, Art & Thought; and the Re-Matriation Chapbook Series of Indigenous Poetry. She is a member of the international travel/peace organization SERVAS, Poets & Writers, and Associated Writing Programs (AWP). She has served on panels at writers’ conferences and given myriad poetry readings at colleges, cultural centers, coffee houses, and other venues.
Deer Cloud has spent the past few years roving with her wanderlust companion, John Gunther, in the far north of Canada’s Maritime Provinces and in South America (Chile, Argentina, Bolivia and Peru). After being diagnosed with breast cancer in May 2017, more than ever this poet is immersed in an open ended physical journey mated to a spirit quest for whatever original stardust-light draws us to each other in the most creative, tender, and enraptured ways.
Susan Deer Cloud, a mixed lineage Catskill Indian, is an alumna of Goddard College (MFA) and Binghamton University (B.A. and M.A.). She has taught Creative Writing, Rhetoric and Literature at Binghamton University and Broome Community College. In April 2013 she returned to her “heart country” Catskills to dwell once more with foxes, deer, black bears, rainbow trout, bald eagles, and the ghosts of panthers and ancestors. She now lives as a full-time mountain woman, dreamer and writer in between roaming on Turtle Island and in other lands.
Deer Cloud is the recipient of various awards and fellowships, including an Elizabeth George Foundation Grant, a National Endowment for the Arts Literature Fellowship, two New York State Foundation for the Arts Fellowships, and a Chenango County Council for the Arts Individual Artist’s Grant. Some of her books are Before Language and Hunger Moon (Shabda Press); Fox Mountain, The Last Ceremony and Car Stealer (FootHills Publishing); and Braiding Starlight (Split Oak Press). Her poems, stories and essays have been published in anthologies and journals too numerous to name.
In order to get out “the voices of the voiceless,” the poet has edited three published anthologies: multicultural Confluence and Native American anthologies I Was Indian (Before Being Indian Was Cool), Volumes I & II; the 2008 Spring Issue of Yellow Medicine Review, a Journal of Indigenous Literature, Art & Thought; and the Re-Matriation Chapbook Series of Indigenous Poetry. She is a member of the international travel/peace organization SERVAS, Poets & Writers, and Associated Writing Programs (AWP). She has served on panels at writers’ conferences and given myriad poetry readings at colleges, cultural centers, coffee houses, and other venues.
Deer Cloud has spent the past few years roving with her wanderlust companion, John Gunther, in the far north of Canada’s Maritime Provinces and in South America (Chile, Argentina, Bolivia and Peru). After being diagnosed with breast cancer in May 2017, more than ever this poet is immersed in an open ended physical journey mated to a spirit quest for whatever original stardust-light draws us to each other in the most creative, tender, and enraptured ways.
¨The Way to Rainbow Mountain is a moving collection of poems that span the Americas, from Newfoundland to Patagonia. The main theme is recovery. A Native American woman living in the northern Catskills is diagnosed with breast cancer. Thankfully (if that word can even be used in the case of cancer) the tumor is removed with a lumpectomy followed by radiation treatments. Less than three months later, her lover takes her on a couple of journeys, travels that written about compete with the best road-trip works in literature. Her amante is her caretaker, guide, and best friend. They converse with Peruvian, Chilean, and Bolivian natives. They exchange thoughts with llamas and guanacos. He changes flat tires on red-sand roads. All during the trips, she is passing through clouds of depression, ruminating in poetic monologues while escaping the pain and hollowness left by the extracted lump back in the Catskills: “Is this light the Milky Way’s star road/watched over by llama eyes, this flashing/out of my skin not my usual fleeting rapture/when solstice flares in?” When they arrive at the base of the hill facing Rainbow Mountain, at an altitude of 17,000 feet, her lover has to practically carry her up, because the air is too thin for her to breathe. The beauteous peak becomes her colors in the rain.¨ – Stephen Page, author of A Ranch Bordering the Salty River
“Possessing a courageousness with which few artists are gifted or gutsy enough to create, Susan Deer Cloud’s poetry roars with raw truths and a kind of audacious intimacy. Her words pierce deep and penetrate the perfect central point where our internal and external landscapes fuse –
a sacred place where the oneness of the universe can be felt. From the pristine mountains of Deer Cloud’s beloved ancestral Catskill home to the salt-aired shores of Nova Scotia, whether in the bowels of New York City’s subway system or on the precarious path of breast cancer, inside the dreams of a medicine dreamer and inside the realities of a pragmatic realist – The Way to Rainbow Mountain is the many physical and spiritual journeys of a bold and beautiful life well-spent.” – Gabriel Horn, author Spirit Drumming and Amy Krout-Horn, author Dancing in Concrete Moccasins
“Possessing a courageousness with which few artists are gifted or gutsy enough to create, Susan Deer Cloud’s poetry roars with raw truths and a kind of audacious intimacy. Her words pierce deep and penetrate the perfect central point where our internal and external landscapes fuse –
a sacred place where the oneness of the universe can be felt. From the pristine mountains of Deer Cloud’s beloved ancestral Catskill home to the salt-aired shores of Nova Scotia, whether in the bowels of New York City’s subway system or on the precarious path of breast cancer, inside the dreams of a medicine dreamer and inside the realities of a pragmatic realist – The Way to Rainbow Mountain is the many physical and spiritual journeys of a bold and beautiful life well-spent.” – Gabriel Horn, author Spirit Drumming and Amy Krout-Horn, author Dancing in Concrete Moccasins
Before Language by Susan Deer Cloud
Order Before Language on Amazon or Barnes & Noble
Susan Deer Cloud, a mixed lineage Catskill Indian, is an alumna of Goddard College (MFA) and Binghamton University (B.A. and M.A.). She has taught Creative Writing, Rhetoric and Literature at Binghamton University and Broome Community College. A few years ago she returned to her “heart country” Catskills to dwell once more with foxes, deer, black bears, bald eagles, and the ghosts of panthers and ancestors. She now lives as a full-time mountain woman, dreamer and writer.
Deer Cloud is the recipient of various awards and fellowships, including an Elizabeth George Foundation Grant, a National Endowment for the Arts Literature Fellowship, two New York State Foundation for the Arts Fellowships, and a Chenango County Council for the Arts Individual Artist’s Grant. Some of her books are Hunger Moon (Shabda Press); Fox Mountain, The Last Ceremony and Car Stealer (FootHills Publishing); and Braiding Starlight (Split Oak Press). Her poems, stories and essays have been published in anthologies and journals too numerous to name.
In order to get out “the voices of the voiceless,” the poet has edited three published anthologies: multicultural Confluence and Native American anthologies I Was Indian (Before Being Indian Was Cool), Volumes I & II; the 2008 Spring Issue of Yellow Medicine Review, a Journal of Indigenous Literature, Art & Thought; and the Re-Matriation Chapbook Series of Indigenous Poetry. She is a member of the international peace organization SERVAS; Poets & Writers; Associated Writing Programs (AWP); and indigenous Wordcraft Circle. She has served on panels at writers’ conferences and given myriad poetry readings at colleges, cultural centers, coffee houses, and other venues.
In between her sojourns in the Catskills, Deer Cloud has spent the past few years roving with her life’s companion, John Gunther, around Turtle Island (North America) as well as on the Isles (Iceland, Ireland, Scotland, Wales and England) and Europe. She has been not only on a physical journey but a spiritual quest for her deepest roots tied in with ancestresses, ancient truths, and the sacred web of life. One magical part of this journey was meeting Beat Stähli, the cover artist for Before Language, who she has come to consider both a mountain brother and kindred spirit. She a daughter of the Catskill Mountains, he the son of the Swiss Alps, she views their creative collaboration as a friendship dreaming the two halves of the world together into a wholeness embodying peace and love.
Susan Deer Cloud, a mixed lineage Catskill Indian, is an alumna of Goddard College (MFA) and Binghamton University (B.A. and M.A.). She has taught Creative Writing, Rhetoric and Literature at Binghamton University and Broome Community College. A few years ago she returned to her “heart country” Catskills to dwell once more with foxes, deer, black bears, bald eagles, and the ghosts of panthers and ancestors. She now lives as a full-time mountain woman, dreamer and writer.
Deer Cloud is the recipient of various awards and fellowships, including an Elizabeth George Foundation Grant, a National Endowment for the Arts Literature Fellowship, two New York State Foundation for the Arts Fellowships, and a Chenango County Council for the Arts Individual Artist’s Grant. Some of her books are Hunger Moon (Shabda Press); Fox Mountain, The Last Ceremony and Car Stealer (FootHills Publishing); and Braiding Starlight (Split Oak Press). Her poems, stories and essays have been published in anthologies and journals too numerous to name.
In order to get out “the voices of the voiceless,” the poet has edited three published anthologies: multicultural Confluence and Native American anthologies I Was Indian (Before Being Indian Was Cool), Volumes I & II; the 2008 Spring Issue of Yellow Medicine Review, a Journal of Indigenous Literature, Art & Thought; and the Re-Matriation Chapbook Series of Indigenous Poetry. She is a member of the international peace organization SERVAS; Poets & Writers; Associated Writing Programs (AWP); and indigenous Wordcraft Circle. She has served on panels at writers’ conferences and given myriad poetry readings at colleges, cultural centers, coffee houses, and other venues.
In between her sojourns in the Catskills, Deer Cloud has spent the past few years roving with her life’s companion, John Gunther, around Turtle Island (North America) as well as on the Isles (Iceland, Ireland, Scotland, Wales and England) and Europe. She has been not only on a physical journey but a spiritual quest for her deepest roots tied in with ancestresses, ancient truths, and the sacred web of life. One magical part of this journey was meeting Beat Stähli, the cover artist for Before Language, who she has come to consider both a mountain brother and kindred spirit. She a daughter of the Catskill Mountains, he the son of the Swiss Alps, she views their creative collaboration as a friendship dreaming the two halves of the world together into a wholeness embodying peace and love.
Hunger Moon by Susan Deer Cloud
Cover art by Dorothy Little Sparrow Watson
Purchase HUNGER MOON on Amazon and Barnes and Noble
Author bio:
Susan Deer Cloud is a mixed lineage Catskill Mountain Indian who has traveled to and sojourned in many places. She has a B.A. & M.A. in Literature/Creative Writing from Binghamton University and an MFA in Creative Writing/Poetry from Goddard College. She has taught literature and creative writing at the college level. Deer Cloud has been awarded various prizes, fellowships and awards, including a National Endowment for the Arts Literature Fellowship, 2 New York State Foundation for the Arts Poetry Fellowships, an Elizabeth George Foundation Grant, a Chenango County Council for the Arts Individual Artist's Grant, Allen Ginsberg 1st Prize in Poetry (twice) & Prairie Schooner's Readers' Choice Prize in Poetry . Her books include Fox Mountain (Foothills Publishing, 2013), I Was Indian Before Being Indian Was Cool, I & II (Foothills Publishing, 2012), Braiding Starlight (Split Oak Press, 2010), Car Stealer(Foothills Publishing, 2009), and The Last Ceremony (Foothills Publishing, 2007).
"Native American poet Susan Deer Cloud is the master of the long lament, and Hunger Moon is her mournful and magical masterpiece. The work is a song of celebration, but at times her pen becomes a low-sounding cedar flute, searching for that sorrowful note at the bottom of all the holes. When Deer Cloud lets loose one of her salty soliloquies about her mixed lineage mountain people and their exuberant and long-suffering lives, she clears the deck and points the finger at us all. But none of the colorful characters that inhabit Hunger Moon receive more poetic punishment than the poet herself. She wields a self-deprecating style of humor that goes beyond the call of humility. Deer Cloud digs deeper into the back-country Catskill mud she flings to find momentary marvels of wisdom and insight that are simply stunning … sentences of solid gold. At those moments … and there are many … readers will feel they have discovered genius and perhaps touched immortality."
--Evan Pritchard, poet and professor of Native Studies (Marist, Pace, Vassar, etc.) and author of No Word For Time, Bird Medicine, Native New Yorkers.
"Reading Deer Cloud’s words sets in motion a journey for the creative mind that equally stirs the skin, breath, and vision. Her poems resuscitate both new and familiar passions; the deeply honest word-stories expose my own naked soul by poem’s end. In “Bear Hunt,” Deer Cloud writes, “Granddaughter, when I crawl through that membrane separating your life from what people misname my death, I can sometimes weep tears again …” Throughout the book, words like these provide the alchemy that thrills and sparks soul-light and calls into today’s life an amplified truth that inspires the spirit of my own ancestors to dance inside this warmed skin."
--Anecia Tretikoff O’Carroll, M.A. is an Alutiiq interracial adoptee that recently relocated to her blood’s home to reunite with her beloved Alaska Native people. The story of the spirited journey is told in her forthcoming book, Loud Blood Sings Me Home.
"Susan Deer Cloud’s “Hunger Moon” laments the starvation of the soul, the famine of the heart, the death of love. But like her grandmother’s grandmothers, the Clan Mothers of the Longhouse, Susan points us to Spring’s salvation, aborning in the hungry bellies of February. Wrap yourself in Deer Cloud’s words. The truth teller awaits you under the “Hunger Moon.”"
--Paul Hapenny, Metis, is the author of multi-award winning plays “Vig” and “Sacrement”; “Vig” eventually became the film The Money Kings. His Kespukwitk: Land’s End Poems is in FootHills Publishing’s Re-Matriation Chapbook Series of Indigenous Poetry.
"In this, her finest collection of poems so far, Susan Deer Cloud inhabits not the manufactured misery of affluence pretending to grace, but the real pain of gunfire in the night, rape, a racist in Rolex dripping scorn over Latinos, Blacks, and Indians sitting one row over in a classroom, weeping from the attack. Her grace is earned, through mixed blood, discarded by carded Indians and family alike; through death by Dow visited for oil; through living on, as parents die prematurely of poverty and elite coeds dun her for using “I” and meaning herself. This volume is for the sturdy."
--Dr. Barbara Alice Mann, Professor in Honors College at UToledo, Ohio, and author of numerous books, including Iroquoian Women: The Gantowisas and The Tainted Gift.
--Evan Pritchard, poet and professor of Native Studies (Marist, Pace, Vassar, etc.) and author of No Word For Time, Bird Medicine, Native New Yorkers.
"Reading Deer Cloud’s words sets in motion a journey for the creative mind that equally stirs the skin, breath, and vision. Her poems resuscitate both new and familiar passions; the deeply honest word-stories expose my own naked soul by poem’s end. In “Bear Hunt,” Deer Cloud writes, “Granddaughter, when I crawl through that membrane separating your life from what people misname my death, I can sometimes weep tears again …” Throughout the book, words like these provide the alchemy that thrills and sparks soul-light and calls into today’s life an amplified truth that inspires the spirit of my own ancestors to dance inside this warmed skin."
--Anecia Tretikoff O’Carroll, M.A. is an Alutiiq interracial adoptee that recently relocated to her blood’s home to reunite with her beloved Alaska Native people. The story of the spirited journey is told in her forthcoming book, Loud Blood Sings Me Home.
"Susan Deer Cloud’s “Hunger Moon” laments the starvation of the soul, the famine of the heart, the death of love. But like her grandmother’s grandmothers, the Clan Mothers of the Longhouse, Susan points us to Spring’s salvation, aborning in the hungry bellies of February. Wrap yourself in Deer Cloud’s words. The truth teller awaits you under the “Hunger Moon.”"
--Paul Hapenny, Metis, is the author of multi-award winning plays “Vig” and “Sacrement”; “Vig” eventually became the film The Money Kings. His Kespukwitk: Land’s End Poems is in FootHills Publishing’s Re-Matriation Chapbook Series of Indigenous Poetry.
"In this, her finest collection of poems so far, Susan Deer Cloud inhabits not the manufactured misery of affluence pretending to grace, but the real pain of gunfire in the night, rape, a racist in Rolex dripping scorn over Latinos, Blacks, and Indians sitting one row over in a classroom, weeping from the attack. Her grace is earned, through mixed blood, discarded by carded Indians and family alike; through death by Dow visited for oil; through living on, as parents die prematurely of poverty and elite coeds dun her for using “I” and meaning herself. This volume is for the sturdy."
--Dr. Barbara Alice Mann, Professor in Honors College at UToledo, Ohio, and author of numerous books, including Iroquoian Women: The Gantowisas and The Tainted Gift.
