Talking Volumes: A conversation with writer N. Scott Momaday

N. Scott Momaday draws inspiration from his Native American heritage, the grandeur of the New Mexico landscape and his world travels.

The award-winning novelist, poet and essayist gained a reverence for the natural world as a boy, exploring the vast landscape of the American Southwest on horseback. It's also where he cultivated a boundless imagination:

“I define the imagination as that which enables us to see beyond reality. We see the mountain there and it is real, but we imagine the valley on the other side, and that is not real,” he said. “But it can be made real in the mind, we can write about it, imagine it. And to me that's important. I think it's important to most writers."

For MPR and the Star Tribune's Talking Volumes: Talking Race series, MPR News host Kerri Miller talked with him about how his poetry bears the weight of history, roots into the present moment, and imagines a future of endless possibilities.

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To listen to the full conversation you can use the audio player above.