Ron Riekki and I had a great conversation about his work, his life, and our common experiences. He is an indigenous writer with many writing credits. He's studied with Anne Beattie, John Casey, Rita Dove and Charles Wright, to name a few. He also hung out with actor, Sean Penn! Do give a listen and learn about this fascinating writer!
You can order Posttraumatic here: https://www.spdbooks.org/Products/9781732336162/posttraumatic-a-memoir.aspx
You can order "My Ancestors Are Reindeer Hers and I am Melting in Extinction" here: https://www.amazon.com/Ancestors-Reindeer-Herders-Melting-Extinction/dp/1627202102
"In My Ancestors are Reindeer Herders and I am Melting in Extinction, Ron Riekki presents a collection of non-fiction, short stories, and poetry about the Karelian- and Saami-American experience. In true nomadic fashion, his writing takes the reader to Kuusamo, Utah, Berkeley, the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, Lake Mohave, Yosemite, Karelia, and a hazmat facility where all the animals on site have been forgotten.
A mix of Anselm Hollo, Gregory Orr, Eric Torgersen, and Nils-Aslak Valkeapää, Riekki’s writing forces the Saami-American voice to be heard, a voice that some might not even realize exists. It does. Furiously."
A mix of Anselm Hollo, Gregory Orr, Eric Torgersen, and Nils-Aslak Valkeapää, Riekki’s writing forces the Saami-American voice to be heard, a voice that some might not even realize exists. It does. Furiously."
You can order "Undocumented: Great Lakes Poets Laureate on Social Justice" here: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1611863082/ref=dbs_a_def_rwt_bibl_vppi_i0
You can order "The Many Lives of the Evil Dead" here: https://mcfarlandbooks.com/product/the-many-lives-of-the-evil-dead/
Bio: Ron Riekki is a poet and award-winning screenwriter. He is the author of My Ancestors are Reindeer Herders and I Am Melting In Extinction: Saami-American Non-Fiction, Fiction, and Poetry, U.P.: A Novel, and Posttraumatic: A Memoir. He edited five anthologies: The Way North (Michigan Notable Book), And Here: 100 Years of Upper Peninsula Writing, 1917–2017, Here: Women Writing on Michigan's Upper Peninsula (Independent Publisher Book Award), Undocumented: Great Lakes Poets Laureate on Social Justice, and The Many Lives of The Evil Dead: Essays on the Cult Film Franchise. He's published his writing in The Threepenny Review, Bellevue Literary Review, Wigleaf, Spillway, Poetry Northwest, and many other literary journals. Riekki is Saami-American, Karelian-American, and Finnish-American. If he ever got a tattoo, it'd say Sisu. His home is the north. The far north. No, farther than that.
Check out my first episode!
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