Simplicity of Poetry to the Complexity of Indigeneity | Michael Wasson
Written by Tokala Tatum on May 15, 2025
In this interview, hosted right here at the Daybreak Indian Cultural Center , Nat had the chance to sit down with published author Michael Wasson!
Check out the full interview down below‼️ 👇👇
HUMBLE BEGINNINGS
Hailing out of the Nez Perce tribe, raised in L’enore, Idaho, Michael grew up with a single mother being obsessed with music and lyricism, the only problem is, he kept mishearing the lyrics!
“I would write Black Sabbath lyrics in the margins of my homework and one of my teachers said ‘Wow, great poem’.” – Michael Wasson
What started out as a fascination between his favorite music and what he would interpret was being said, turned into a love for music and language. Shortly after, he began to write poems by “stealing” one of his mother’s notebooks and the journey began!
The ultimate culmination came when Michael Wasson released his latest book of poetry, ‘Swallowed Light’.
Influenced by Life
‘Swallowed Light’ is Wasson’s debut poetry collection where he talks modern colonialism, the immersive indigenous experience, through language, moments, and more. Michael Wasson aimed to invite the audience to take part in his experience through a unique medium, providing a breathtaking experience.
“I use my breath, I use silence as a way to understand where the poem wants me to pause and let drama fill”. – Michael Wasson
The medium of poetry seems to be the perfect vessel for Michael Wasson’s self-expression due to the way his brain and creative process overflows with the small intricacies of human behavior and pacing that is often invisible yet felt.
Wasson speaks of how he intentionally lets the language charge, or let the language rest in certain spots of his writing. He mentions this because that deliberate pacing is all in order to connect to his target demographic which seems to be considered, the singular.
Michael Wasson doesn’t tend to explain his target demographic in terms of audience but rather in terms of the reader. He mentions this is intentional because the reading experience is meant to be intimate, it’s meant to connect with the one holding the book, rather than creating an experience on a grand stage. It’s meant to feel as if, the reader is being invited into the moment exclusively in order to better connect.
“With somebody’s reading of a poem, it’s just me listening to that person in a room. And for me I felt like poetry was a way to speak specifically to people in all of their context.” – Michael Wasson
Introduced to Discomfort
Michael Wasson states how ‘Swallowed Light’ was an opportunity to provide an immersive experience to culture but most importantly, language.
Wasson shares their experience of how growing up around fractured language, around code-switching, learning the culture, the language has always been through context. Picking up words through ceremony, family gatherings, etc. That learned language was where children had to sit with the unknown until it became known. So, in doing that, Michael uses language unapologetically in order to force the audience to sit with that same experience, digest and indulge.
“That fracturing (of language), that discomfort became a comfort for us”. – Michael Wasson
Michael Wasson blends the beauty of simplicity and the uniqueness of the medium such as poetry to express his world-view. To speak to a complex environment that is going through a lot of changes, blossoming from a lot of hardship. Michael Wasson hopes that opportunities given to people such as him, can open the doors for others to share their story, and create their space.
Check out the full interview down below along with where to follow Michael Wasson and his poetry book, ‘Swallowed Light’.
