Biographical Information:

Simon Ortiz was born in Albuquerque, New Mexico and raised in the Acoma village of McCarty's in an Acoma-speaking family. Ortiz attended Fort Lewis College (1962-63), the University of New Mexico (1966-68), and the University of Iowa (1968-69). His career includes teaching at San Diego State, the Institute of American Indian Arts, Navajo Community College, the College of Marin, the University of New Mexico, and the Sinte Gleska College. Ortiz also served as lieutenant governor of the Pueblo of Acoma and consulting editor of the Pueblo of Acoma Press. He is currently a faculty member at the University of Toronto.

Ortiz would listen closely to adults telling traditional stories and gossip and through this fascination with stories was given the nickname of  “the reporter” by his father….This interest in culture and history fueled his passion for writing. Having grown up in the Acoma Pueblo community in Albuquerque, New Mexico, Ortiz experienced the hardships of Native American and English cultures colliding from a very early age.  (Compiled from various websites)

Bibliography and Major Works:

http://www.uncp.edu/home/canada/work/allam/1914-/lit/ortiz.html

Literary Objectives:

1a.  Involuntary participation—the American Nightmare

3b.  Native American Indian alternative narrative: Loss and Survival

-         …Native Americans defy the myth of “the vanishing Indian…”

Interpretation—

This poem is a reminder that a journey through the south can be a “unique” (read: intimidating) experience for minorities of all kinds—and not just African Americans. Ortiz’s easy narrative style takes you on his journey through parts of the country infamous for their ill-treatment of minorities. The poem consistently conveys an uneasy feeling as if something bad is about to happen. Given the tumultuous time to which the poem referred, that uneasiness was not unwarranted. The final lines express Ortiz’s deep connection with nature in a very poignant but bittersweet ending. Perhaps the stale white bread symbolizes the dominant culture that even the animals were trying to avoid…

Questions:

1. Is Travels in the South feel more like a poem or a story? How so? And, is it effective?

2. Is it more difficult for a minority to travel through the south than the north? Assuming the answer will be unanimously ‘yes’: What makes traveling through the south so unnerving for minorities?

4. How does the poem convey these difficulties?