ABSTRACT
The author of four books of poetry and a number of chapbooks, Klallam writer Duane Niatum is one of the most widely published Native American poets. Born in Seattle and a longtime resident of that city, Niatum is undoubtedly the bestknown American Indian poet of the Northwest. He has also written short fiction and numerous critical essays. Niatum’s position as editor for Harper & Row’s Native American Authors Series in 1973-74 also led to his becoming widely recognized as an editor of Native American poetry. His anthologies, Carriers of the Dream Wheel (1975) and the Harper’s Twentieth Century Native American Poetry (1988), are considered the major texts for courses in American Indian literature. An artful poet, a probing and intelligent critic, and a skilled editor, Duane Niatum is a leading figure in American Indian literature.
