Duane Niatum

Duane Niatum, Jamestown S’Klallam tribe, has been writing poems, stories, and essays for over fifty years. He has been widely published in the U.S. and abroad and has been translated into fourteen languages. He edited two important American Indian anthologies, Carriers of the Dream Wheel and Harper’s Anthology of Twentieth Century Native American Poetry.

He has published nine books of poems, most recently Earth Vowels. Duane’s writing is deeply connected with the Northwest coast landscape, its mountains, forests, water, and creatures. The legends and traditions of his ancestors, who have long called this place home, help shape and animate his poetry. Duane has made a life-long study of art and artists, including European and American Indian art, literature and culture.

Niatum’s honors include residences at the Millay Colony for the Arts and Yaddo, the Governor’s Award from the State of Washington as well as grants from the Carnegie Fund for Authors and the PEN Fund for Writers.He won the National Book Award for his poetry collection, Songs for the Harvester of Dreams. He was invited to read at the Library of Congress and the International Poetry Festival at Rotterdam, the Netherlands. He received the 2017 Lifetime Achievement Award from Native Writers Circle of the Americas, Returning the Gift. Sea Changes, 2020.