Desert Hawk Books

 

Men on the Moon
Collected Short Stories

Simon J. Ortiz

 

 

216 pages
6.125" x 8.75"

Paperback
Quantity: $17.95 & S/H  

Cloth
Quantity: $35.00 & S/H  

 

When Faustin, the old Acoma, is given his first television set, he considers it a technical wonder, a box full of mystery. What he sees on its screen that first day, however, is even more startling than the television itself: men have landed on the moon. Can this be real?

For Simon Ortiz, Faustin's reaction proves that tales of ordinary occurrences can truly touch the heart. "For me," he observes, "there's never been a conscious moment without story."

Best known for his poetry, Ortiz also has authored 26 short stories that have won the hearts of readers through the years. Men on the Moon brings these stories together—stories filled with memorable characters, written with love by a keen observer and interpreter of his people's community and culture.

True to Native American tradition, these tales possess the immediacy—and intimacy—of stories conveyed orally. They are drawn from Ortiz's Acoma Pueblo experience but focus on situations common to Native people, whether living on the land or in cities, and on the issues that affect their lives. We meet Jimmo, a young boy learning that his father is being hunted for murder, and Kaiser, the draft refuser who always wears the suit he was given when he left prison. We also meet some curious Anglos: radicals supporting Indian causes, scholars studying Indian ways, and San Francisco hippies who want to become Indians too.

Whether telling of migrants working potato fields in Idaho and pining for their Arizona home or of a father teaching his son to fly a kite, Ortiz takes readers to the heart of storytelling. Men on the Moon shows that stories told by a poet especially resound with beauty and depth.

"Men on the Moon is a strongly engaging book that does great honor to the art of storytelling."
—Jim Harrison, author of Legends of the Fall

"Wise, poignant, gently humorous stories by one of our best writers. With deceptive simplicity, Simon Ortiz goes very deep."
—Peter Matthiessen, author of In the Spirit of Crazy Horse

Simon J. Ortiz is an author of poetry, fiction, and essays. His books include Woven Stone, After and Before the Lightning, and Speaking for the Generations: Native Writers on Writing, all published by the University of Arizona Press.