Here, for a discussion about how the library is supporting readers of “The Round House” and engaging with Erdrich’s work as a way into conversations around Indigenous resilience and expression, Alex Soto (Tohono O’odham), assistant librarian, is joined by Joe Buenker, associate librarian, who once read Erdrich’s first published novel “Love Medicine” in one sitting and then, within a few days, read it again. With a focus on family history, community archiving and Indigenous land, the ASU Library and its Labriola National American Indian Data Center are participating in the Big Read in a big way, curating a library guide and a book display in Hayden Library and hosting half a dozen events, including a creative writing and zine workshop led by Indigenous poet and ASU alumna Amber McCrary, the founder of Abalone Mountain Press. We’re celebrating communities that have always been here.”

Over 25% of the state is tribal land,” said Jake Friedman, senior coordinator for the Piper Center, who views the grant as a foundation for future projects that create space and redistribute resources.

Arizona is one of the most Indigenous states in the country. “For the Piper Center, it was important to serve and prioritize Indigenous communities. Piper Center for Creative Writing, which, beginning this month, has launched over 25 virtual events - talks, workshops, performances and exhibitions - in celebration and support of Indigenous literary arts and culture across the Valley. What follows is a story told retrospectively, through an Indigenous lens, about Joe’s journey to a deeper understanding of his personal and family history, and the cascading, intergenerational effects of his mother’s assault.Įxploring themes of justice, vulnerability and resilience, Erdrich’s award-winning novel is at the center of the prestigious Big Read Grant from the National Endowment for the Arts, awarded to Arizona State University's Virginia G. Joe will soon learn that his mother has been brutally attacked. The novel’s narrator, Joe Coutts, works to remove each seedling at its root - the last memory he has before his 13-year-old life is forever changed. Louise Erdrich’s 14th novel “The Round House” opens with an image of creeping tree roots threatening the foundation of a family home on the Ojibwe reservation in North Dakota. Erdrich novel sparks conversations, celebrations on Indigenous culture

Novel the round house