an exquisite bilingual journey of languages and observations "situated between the traditions of the past and the innovation needed for survival into the future."
~Naomi Shihab Nye
‘Recognize yourselves in shared water,’ writes Margaret Noodin in ‘Apenimonodan’ (‘Trust’) as the poems of What the Chickadee Knows open into an Anishinaabemowin world, asking us to listen, to be present in ‘what we notice.’ What I notice—what I delight in—is the music of poetry—visual and aural—how the sheer sound of words and each poem’s visual lyricism creates meaning enough for connection. Poetry is music; poetry is the spirit of the senses sounded into life by breath. With these generous and rapt poems, written in Anishinaabemowin and translated by the author herself into English, Noodin gives us an extraordinary gift: an invitation into the illumination of language.
~Jennifer Elise Foerster
There are many moments of beauty and insight to encounter.
~Jon M. Sweeney
The poems here beautifully center Anishinaabe philosophy and language as a future, not just a past. They are also a joy to read.
~Sarah Neilson
Through nuanced connections, Margaret Noodin's poems partake in important Anishinaabeg world-making. Here observations of season and place always include human interaction: snowshoes 'writing canoe shapes in bright snow,' jam-makers 'mixing wind and shining water.' This collection—a primer on how to locate ourselves 'in the center of the blessed'—nevertheless assesses damage caused by America's exclusionary history, becomes 'a sneak-up dance of survival.'
~Kimberly Blaeser
Would it be strange for me, strange of me, to tell you not to read but listen to these poems? There is so much silence and near silence within and between the words, the lines, the pages of this book. These poems, shaped of many languages, quieted me, and reminded me to listen—that listening requires my own quiet. So, as in any walk anywhere upon the earth, beneath the sky—or through this book—my quiet lead me to Noodin's deep silence, carried me to every important thing there was and is to hear.
~Mark Turcotte
With careful attention to rhythm and sound, What the Chickadee Knows reveals the wonderfully unexpected connections between Anishinaabemowin and English. Weaving together not only different languages but different landscapes and histories, this collection of evocative and minutely observed poems celebrates the vast web of relations that sustains us all.
~Adam Spry (White Earth Anishinaabe)
An exquisite bilingual journey of languages and observations "situated between the traditions of the past and the innovation needed for survival into the future."
~Naomi Shihab Nye
Gijigijigaanesgiinh Gikendaan (What the Chickadee Knows) presents a powerful vision of an ancient Indigenous worldview steeped in ethical and aesthetic integrity.
~Charles Rammelkamp
I think "Gimaazinibii'amoon (A Message to You)" is inviting us to pay attention to the tenderness of the words that are there and, also, to allow the mystery of the fact that we are sometimes unknowable to ourselves and to each other; to exist in the way that we continue to live with messages and communications that go on, even after a person is gone from our life.
~Pádraig Ó Tuama
It's a literary gift to suddenly find profound inspiration. Finding that it comes from a local author makes it rare. Margaret Noodin is a professor of English and American Indian studies at UW-Milwaukee. She earned two degrees from Minnesota schools, and it's where she learned the language of the poems in What the Chickadee Knows. They're conceived and written in Anishinaabemowin, side by side with her English translations. It's the language of the Odawa, Potawatomi, and Ojibwe people centered in the Great Lakes region. I don't know the language, but the words are visually thrilling. I can begin to imagine their lovely sounds, and I love seeing the continuation of First Nations languages. Their descriptions of the land and life, time and loss, sorrow and celebration have the feel of a natural world we all long for. They're simply stated, and beautifully complex. They speak of love, while also confronting the tragedy of our history. This is one of the most precious book discoveries I've had, and it's very exciting to know that Margaret teaches up the street from Boswell!
~Tim McCarthy