Calling for a Blanket Dance
by Oscar Hokeah
Friday, July 19 - 6-7 p.m. - Central Library
Fifth Street and Denver Avenue
PEN Award winning author Oscar Hokeah will discuss Calling for a Blanket Dance, a moving and deeply engaging novel about a young Native American man as he learns to find strength in his familial identity. Following the presentation, Hokeah will answer questions from the audience and sign books. Copies of his book will be available for purchase at the event, courtesy of Fulton Street Books.
Read the book ahead of the event to join the discussion! Click HERE to check out a copy of the book or place one on hold.
Told in a series of voices, Calling for a Blanket Dance takes us into the life of Ever Geimausaddle through the multigenerational perspectives of his family as they face myriad obstacles. His father's injury at the hands of corrupt police, his mother's struggle to hold on to her job and care for her husband, the constant resettlement of the family, and the legacy of centuries of injustice all intensify Ever's bottled-up rage. Meanwhile, all of Ever's relatives have ideas about who he is and who he should be. His Cherokee grandmother urges the family to move across Oklahoma to find security; his grandfather hopes to reunite him with his heritage through traditional gourd dances; his Kiowa cousin reminds him that he's connected to an ancestral past. And once an adult, Ever must take the strength given to him by his relatives to save not only himself but also the next generation of family.
How will this young man visualize a place for himself when the world hasn't given him a place to start with? Honest, heartbreaking, and ultimately uplifting, Calling for a Blanket Dance is the story of how Ever Geimausaddle found his way to home.