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Bird Songs Don't Lie

Writings from the Rez

Gordon Lee Johnson Deborah A. Miranda

$37.95   $32.36

Paperback

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English
Heyday Books
02 January 2026
Essays and short stories from a celebrated Cupeo/Cahuilla journalist.

""Johnson is by turns tender and hilarious-as ever. This book is a welcome addition to his loving history of the world as he knows it."" -Susan Straight, author of Sacrament

In this moving collection of short stories and essays, Gordon Lee Johnson (Cupeo/Cahuilla) cements his voice not only as a commentator on American Indian reservation life but also as a master of fiction writing. From the noir-tinged mystery of ""Unholy Wine"" to the gripping intensity of ""Tukwut,"" Johnson effortlessly switches genre and perspective, vividly evoking people and places that are fictional but profoundly true to life. Johnson's nonfiction is equally revelatory in its exploration of connections between past and present. Whether examining his own conflicted feelings toward the missions as a source of both cultural damage and identity or sharing advice on cooking for eight dozen cowboys and -girls, Johnson plumbs the comedy, catastrophe, and beauty of his life on the Pala Reservation to thunderous effect.
By:  
Foreword by:  
Imprint:   Heyday Books
Country of Publication:   United States
Dimensions:   Height: 203mm,  Width: 139mm, 
ISBN:   9781597147170
ISBN 10:   1597147176
Pages:   240
Publication Date:  
Audience:   General/trade ,  ELT Advanced
Format:   Paperback
Publisher's Status:   Active

Gordon Lee Johnson (Cahuilla/Cupeo) lives and writes on the Pala Indian Reservation. A former newspaperman, he was last a columnist and feature writer for the Press-Enterprise, covering Southern California's Inland Empire. He is also the author of Rez Dogs Eat Beans and Fast Cars and Frybread. Deborah A. Miranda is an enrolled member of the Ohlone/Costanoan-Esselen Nation of the Greater Monterey Bay Area in California, with Santa Ynez Chumash ancestry. In addition to Bad Indians, she is the author of four poetry collections and coeditor of Sovereign Erotics: A Collection of Two-Spirit Literature.

Reviews for Bird Songs Don't Lie: Writings from the Rez

""Gordon Johnson's voice is like no other, and he continues in this new book to send out missives from his place in the world—the beating-strong heart of southern California's first peoples and the land they've loved for generations. Johnson is by turns tender and hilarious—as ever. This book is a welcome addition to his loving history of the world as he knows it."" —Susan Straight, author of Sacrament ""A delicious communal feast of memory and imagination for California Indians or for anyone who has spent time living among us; on every page, there is a sensory connection to people, places, and events to delight the senses, evoke a smile, and trigger more stories about traditional gatherings, summer softball tournaments, elders who have passed on, or the bone-rattling comfort from hearing bird songs wafting through the summer air all night long."" —Dr. Theresa Gregor (Iipay Nation of Santa Ysabel), CSU Long Beach


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