My Father's Song

Fiction | Poem | Adult | Published in 1976

A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.

Download PDF

Summary

Background

Poem Analysis

Themes

Symbols & Motifs

Literary Devices

Further Reading & Resources

Related Poems

"My Father: A Tree" by Tina Chang (2020)

In this poem, the author longs for the father she never knew, seeing him in the nature around her and contemplating him through the memories of others. In contrast to Ortiz’s poem, Chang addresses the absence and presence of her father in her life, but like Ortiz, uses the natural world as a means for connecting with her lost parent.

"Prayer for Words" by N. Scott Momaday (2019)

Written by another significant figure of the Native American Renaissance, Momaday’s poem similarly addresses the importance of the voice, and the power of speech, particularly within his culture. Using bold, natural imagery, Momaday explores the question of identity and the disconnect between words and the inexpressible in nature and the self.

"A Dream on the Night of First Snow" by Robert Bly (1971)

Writing during the same era as Ortiz, Bly’s poetry provides some contrast in style and subject. However, the author similarly reflects on the beauty of nature, down to the smallest living creatures thriving under harsh conditions, while criticizing the arrogance of men in the face of nature’s vast beauty.

Further Literary Resources

"Towards a National Indian Literature: Cultural Authenticity in Nationalism" by Simon J. Ortiz (1981)

In this article, Ortiz explores how Native American authors have incorporated linguistic and cultural elements of western, colonizing cultures into their own creative work as a form of resistance and advocacy. He argues that these adopted elements emerge with new meaning and significance in the new context.

From Sand Creek: Rising in this Heart Which is Our America by Simon J. Ortiz (1981)

From Sand Creek received critical acclaim when it was published in 1981 and brought Ortiz’s work to a wider audience. Here, Ortiz writes about the massacre of Cheyenne and Arapaho women and children by US soldiers at Sand Creek in 1864, and traces how the idea of Manifest Destiny that lead to that moment is still alive and influential in contemporary American foreign policy.

Getting Over the Color Green: Contemporary Environmental Literature of the Southwest By Scott Slovic (2001)

Ortiz’s work is featured alongside a range of authors in this anthology of contemporary nature writing. Works in this collection address a variety of issues that intersect with Ortiz’s interests, including living close to the land, conservation and restoration, and sharing the beauty of the region.

Tending the Fire: Native Voices and Portraits By Christopher Felver (2017)

This award-winning book celebrates Native American voices by profiling a range of poets with photographs and hand-written poems for each. Ortiz not only pens the introduction to the book but has work showcased alongside a diversity of Native American literary figures.