Luci Tapahonso

Rebecca Tillett (University of East Anglia)
Download PDF Add to Bookshelf Report an Error

Born on 8 November 1953 to Lucille Deschenne Tapahonso (Salt Water clan) and Eugene Tapahonso Sr. (Bitter Water clan), Luci Tapahonso is widely considered to be one of the foremost and most influential contemporary Diné (Navajo) poets and storytellers. The middle child of eleven, Tapahonso was born in Shiprock, New Mexico, and raised on the largest reservation in the United States: the Navajo homeland of Dinétah, which straddles the states of Arizona, Colorado, New Mexico and Utah.

In these traditional Navajo surroundings, Tapahonso learnt English as a second spoken language after her native tongue, Diné (Navajo). Her initial education, at the Navajo Methodist Mission Boarding School in Farmington, New Mexico, ensured that English would be her first written language. Tapahonso

703 words

Citation: Tillett, Rebecca. "Luci Tapahonso". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 01 August 2001 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/speople.php?rec=true&UID=4312, accessed 19 March 2024.]

4312 Luci Tapahonso 1 Historical context notes are intended to give basic and preliminary information on a topic. In some cases they will be expanded into longer entries as the Literary Encyclopedia evolves.

Save this article

If you need to create a new bookshelf to save this article in, please make sure that you are logged in, then go to your 'Account' here

Leave Feedback

The Literary Encyclopedia is a living community of scholars. We welcome comments which will help us improve.