Language Mojave; English Role Poet Name Natalie Diaz | Genre Poetry Ethnicity Mojave | |
 | ||
Nationality Gila River Indian Community Alma mater Old Dominion University Books When My Brother Was an Aztec | ||
Education Old Dominion University | ||
Weekly poem natalie diaz reads from her book when my brother was an aztec
Natalie Diaz is a Mojave American poet, language activist, and educator. She is enrolled in the Gila River Indian Community.
Contents
- Weekly poem natalie diaz reads from her book when my brother was an aztec
- Pen diy with natalie diaz how to sacrifice your brother even when he is an aztec
- Early life
- Career
- Personal life
- Poetry
- Awards and honors
- References
Pen diy with natalie diaz how to sacrifice your brother even when he is an aztec
Early life
Natalie Diaz grew up in the Fort Mojave Indian Village in Needles, California, on the border of California, Arizona, and Nevada. She attended Old Dominion University where she played point guard on the women’s basketball team, reaching the NCAA Final Four as a freshman and the bracket of sixteen her other three years. After playing professional basketball in Europe and Asia, she returned to Old Dominion University, and completed an MFA in poetry and fiction, in 2006.
Career
Her work appeared in Narrative, Poetry magazine, Drunken Boat, Prairie Schooner, Iowa Review, and Crab Orchard Review.
Diaz's debut book of poetry, When My Brother Was an Aztec, was a 2012 Lannan Literary Selection, a 2013 PEN/Open Book Award shortlist, and “portrays experiences rooted in Native American life with personal and mythic power.” One important focus of the book is a brother’s addiction to crystal meth.
In 2012, she was interviewed about her poetry and language rehabilitation work on the PBS News Hour.
Personal life
Diaz currently lives in Mohave Valley, Arizona where she used to work on language revitalization at Fort Mojave, her home reservation. She worked with the last Elder speakers of the Mojave language.