Ask The Puma Research Guides: Indian Boarding School: The Runaways

Indian Boarding School: The Runaways

Louise Erdrich (1954 -  ) is an American novelist, short story author, and poet of mixed Native American and white heritage.  Her poem “Indian Boarding School: The Runaways” poignantly describes Native children who are trying to escape from a “white” boarding school in order to return to their homes, their families, and their own Native culture.  This poem comes from Erdrich’s 2003 collection entitled Original Fire: Selected and New Poems. 

Call Number for Browsing the Shelves

• PS153 .I52 L55 2007

Circulating Book  – A Selected List

•  Lincoln, Kenneth.  Speak Like Singing: Classics of Native American Literature.  2007.

                        Call Number:  PS153 .I52 L55 2007    *(See page 199.)

Reference Materials

• Contemporary Literary Criticism. – Call Number:  REF PN771 .C59

o Volume 54,  page 165 

o Volume 120, pages 134-135

• Critical Survey of Poetry (4^th Ed.): American Poets. – Call Number:  REF PN1021 .C7 2011

o Volume 1, pages 553-559     *(Overall themes of Erdrich’s poetry are discussed.)

• Poetry Criticism. – Call Number:  REF PN1010 .P6

o Volume 52, pages 181-182     *(The poem “Indian Boarding School: The Runaways” itself and a discussion of it are included.)

Research Databases

To access Valencia’s research databases, open your Atlas account, select ‘Search the Library’, then select ‘Databases A-Z’.

• JSTOR    
  • *(On the search bar, type in Indian Boarding School: The Runaways and Erdrich. Search.  The PDF entry “Four Poems,” by Louise Erdrich and  a PDF  review of  “Native American Women,” edited by Linda Hogan, will appear.) 
•  Literature Resources from Gale    
  • *(On the search bars, type in   Name of Work  Indian Boarding School: The Runaways   and   Person By or About  Erdrich, Louise.  Specify for Full Text.  Search.  The article “Whatever Is Really Yours,” by Louise Erdrich and Joseph Bruchac, will appear.  Click on Full Text.)

This Research Guide is designed to help users find information on a particular topic within the Valencia College East Campus Library.  This is by no means a comprehensive list of resources and other resources may be available on this topic.  Please check the LINCCWeb, Valencia East’s online catalog, to verify the availability of circulating books within the library.  Feel free to ask a librarian for help if you need further assistance.

Valencia College East Campus Library

Last Revised on November 21, 2021