I got the chance to read an advanced reader copy of the upcoming non-fiction work by Joshua Whitehead (thanks, NetGalley!). The book, titled Making Love with the Land, is comprised of essays of a variety of types, musing on Indigeneity and his writing process.
The book demands attention. Whitehead uses Indigenous language throughout, without definition, in a Indigenizing move that is reminiscent of Ngũgĩ wa Thiong'o, the Kenyan writer who has long insisted on retaining Gikuyu language in his translated works. Like him, Whitehead leaves the English-speaking reader to confront their own discomfort with the unknown language. We are left with the sense that this writing is not for us, in the way that the vast majority of English-language works are, and that we are honored to be given what glimpses into Whitehead’s world that we can decipher. Even his use of the English language is designed to baffle, filled with obscure vocabulary and double entendres. Nothing in this book is expressed simply – everything must be decoded through careful analysis.
The themes in this book oscillate gracefully. Whitehead reflects on the way Indigenous culture and narrative is understood by outsiders and how he has interpreted it in his own work as an author, reflecting on his previous best-seller, Johnny Appleseed, as well as his book of poetry, Full-Metal Indigiqueer. Through his reflections on these works, Whitehead also reflects on his positionality as a queer author, and on the intersection of Indigeneity and queer identity. Overall, this is a thought-provoking book for those who have the dedication to sort through it.
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