Poetry. Native American Studies. "These poems invite you into Kim's worlds of granddaughter, docent, teacher, mother and visionary and share her early experiences in big city living. I hope you readers enjoy this collection of poems as much as I have--"Carolee Sanchez Allen. "Read it straight through like a novel, full of characters and stories that evoke and compel. Read it aloud so you can hear its notes falling from your tongue, some held and others released quickly, some trilling and echoing in the wind of your voice. Read it slowly so it can reveal the layers that are tightly woven in the seemingly simple rendered verse. Read it more quickly so you can laugh at the jokes that come page after page. Read it when you have time for tears, or your own memories of death and survival, love and abandonment. However you approach SMUGGLING CHEROKEE, its clarity and depth will fill your spirit and heart"--devorah major. Kim Shuck is a mixed Tsalagi, Sauk/Fox and Polish educator, writer and weaver.
About the author: Kim Shuck is a poet, weaver, educator, doer of piles of laundry, planter of seeds, traveler and child wrangler. She was born in her mother's hometown of San Francisco, one hill away from where she now lives. Her ancestors were and are Tsalagi, Sauk and Fox and Polish, for the most part. She received a Master of Fine Arts degree in weaving in 1998 from San Francisco State University. As a poet Kim has read her work around the United States. In late summer and fall of 2005 she toured through Jordan with a group of poets from many countries in the interest of peace and communication. Shuck has read her work on her local radio. She is co-curator of the Spoken Word Series of the Native American Cultural Center. Kim sat for a time on the board of directors for California Poets in the Schools. As a visual artist Kim's work has been shown both in and out of the United States, including shows at the National Museum of Taiwan in Taipei and the Art, Women, California Show at the San Jose Art Museum. She has consulted with museums and galleries around California on the subject of Native artwork. Kim has taught in elementary schools, at San Francisco State University and has lectured widely on the subjects of math, art and Native American issues. She has been a teacher since, in 3rd grade, she taught fellow classmates a series of short lessons in crochet.
