Laura Tohe

Professor Emerita,

English

L.Tohe@asu.edu
Phone: 480-965-5553
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Ross-Blakley Hall 235 PO Box 871401 TEMPE, AZ 85287-1401
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Long Bio

Laura Tohe has written and co-authored five books. "No Parole Today" (1999) won Poetry of the Year awarded by the Wordcraft Circle of Native Writers and Storytellers and was nominated for a Pushcart award. "Tseyi, Deep in the Rock" won the 2007 Glyph Award for Best Poetry and Best Book by Arizona Book Association and is listed as a Southwest Book of the Year 2005 by the Tucson Pima Library. Her most recent book, "Code Talker Stories," is an oral history book about the remaining Navajo Code Talkers. She writes essays, stories, and essays that have appeared in the U.S., Canada, and Europe. Her commissioned libretto, "Enemy Slayer, A Navajo Oratorio," made its world premiere for the Phoenix Symphony in 2008.

Her awards include the 2006 Dan Schilling Public Scholar for the Arizona Humanities; the Joy Harjo & the Lila Wallace Reader’s Digest Fund Award; ASU Faculty Exemplar for 2009-2014. She is the Navajo Nation Poet Laureate for 2015-2019. She is currently writing a libretto for an opera on healing with composer, Thierry Pecou, scheduled for production in Europe in 2019.

Education

Ph.D. University of Nebraska

Curriculum Vitae

Publications

Laura Tohe. Associated Writers Programs (AWP) Podcast. (2010).
Laura Tohe. Dine College Poetry Reading Series. (2010).
Laura Tohe. Poetry reading. (2010).
Laura Tohe. Poetry reading. (2010).
Laura Tohe. Poetry reading and book discussion. (2010).
Laura Tohe. Tucson Festival of Books. (2010).
Laura Tohe. U of Utah Creative Writing Conference 2010. (2010).
Laura Tohe, Amanda Blanco, and Sunny Dooley. Poetry and Storytelling A Celebration of Language from Navajoland and Latin America. (2010).
Laura Tohe, Sherwin Bitsui, Joy Harjo, and Ofelia Zepeda. Native American & Indigenous Studies (NAISA) Poetry Night. (2010).
Laura Tohe. "Eating the Earth". Native Literatures: Generations. On-Line Journal (2010).
Laura Tohe. "Moonshell Land". Native Literatures: Generations. On-Line Journal (2010).
Laura Tohe. "Salt River". Native Literatures: Generations. On-Line Journal (2010).
Laura Tohe (Libretto), Mark Grey (Composer), Perf by The Phoenix Symphony Orchestra. Enemy Slayer: A Navajo Oratorio. Native Literatures: Generations. On-Line Journal (2010).
Laura Tohe. Poetry reading. (2009).
Laura Tohe, librettist; Mark Grey, composer; Deborah O'Grady, photographer / Brady Allred, Conductor. Enemy Slayer: A Navajo Oratorio. (2009).
Laura Tohe, Librettist; Mark Grey, Composer; Michael Christie, Musical Director for The Phoenix Symphony Orchestra; Scott Hendricks, Baritone; The Phoenix Symphony Chorus; Gregory Gentry, Chorus Master for The Phoenix Symphony. Enemy Slayer: A Navajo Oratorio. (2009).
Laura Tohe/Allison Hedge-Coke, Coordinator. Poetry reading. (2009).
Laura Tohe/Barbara Robbins, Coordinator. Poetry Reading. (2009).
Laura Tohe/Dr. Billie Stratton, Coordinator. "Indigenous Voices" Native American Writers Series Poetry Reading. (2009).
Laura Tohe/Jim Blasingame, Coordinator. OLIO National Conference. (2009).
Laura Tohe/Patricia Colleen Murphy, Coordinator. Superstition Review Reading Series. (2009).
Laura Tohe/Patrick Milliken, Coordinator. Book Launch for Phoenix Noir. (2009).
Laura Tohe/Patrick Milliken, Coordinator. Reading from Phoenix Noir. (2009).
Laura Tohe/Shannon Manuelito, Coordinator. Poetry Reading. (2009).
Laura Tohe/Simon Ortiz, Coordinator. ASU American Indian Studies Conference. (2009).
. "'It Was That Indian': Simon Ortiz, Activist Poet.". (2009).
Laura Tohe. "Our Tongues Slapped into Silence". Reflections in Place: Connected Lives of Navajo Women (2009).
Laura Tohe. "The Names". Reflections in Place: Connected Lives of Navajo Women (2009).
Laura Tohe. "Tom Snag" (short story). Phoenix Noir (2009).
Laura Tohe. "Petroglyph in Tséyi’ (Canyon de Chelly)"photograph). (2007).
. . Review of: For a Girl Becoming (0).

Presentations

Laura Tohe. "Poems and Stories of Jini: Works in Decolonization". Claiming the Word Indigenous Book Festival, U of New Mexico (Nov 2010).
Laura Tohe. "Tseyi', Deep in the Rock: Reflections on Ancestry, History, Land, and Imagery". ASU/Shichuan University’s (China) "Place and Identity" American Studies Program Connection (Oct 2010).
Laura Tohe. Arizona English Teachers' Association Conference Keynote speaker. Arizona English Teachers' Association 2010, ASU Polytech (Sep 2010).
Laura Tohe. Creative Writing Conference. Creative Writing Conference, Southern Utah University, Cedar City, Utah (Sep 2010).
Laura Tohe. Pedagogy Discussion. Creative Writing Conference, Southern Utah University, Cedar City, Utah (Sep 2010).
Laura Tohe. Invited Writer. Scottsdale Society of Women Writers, Scottsdale, AZ (Aug 2010).
Laura Tohe. "Indigenous-Aboriginal American Writers Caucus.". Associated Writing Programs (AWP) Denver, CO (Apr 2010).
Laura Tohe. "Honoring the Sand Hill Crane Migration Annual Literary Tribute". Association of Writers Program (AWP) (Apr 2010).
Laura Tohe. Environmental Justice, Film & Discussion Series. Environmental Justice, Film & Discussion Series (Sep 2009).
Laura Tohe. "War and Restoration in Making Enemy Slayer: A Navajo Oratorio". Native American Literature Conference (May 2009).

Service

Women Active in Letters & Social Change (MALSC), Member (2009 - Present)
Wicaso Sa Review: A Journal of Native American Studies, Advisory Board (1995 - Present)
Wicaso Sa Review: A Journal of Native American Studies, Advisory Board (1995 - Present)
Native Literatures: Generations. On-Line Journal. Ed. John Purdy., Editorial Board Member (2010 - 2011)
Friday Night Talks, "The Navajo Code Talkers", Invited speaker (2010 - 2010)
Mujeres Activas en Letras y Cambio Social/Women Active in Letters and Social Change (MALSC), Board Member (2010 - 2010)
Search committee to hire Indigenous American Literary Scholar, Member (2010 - 2010)
Arizona Humanities Council Road Scholar Speakers Bureau 2010, Road Scholar Speaker (2010 - 2010)
Election Committee, 2008-10, Member (2008 - 2010)
Welcome Club, "The Navajo Code Talkers.", Invited Speaker (2010 - 2010)
Associated Writers Program (AWP) 2009-2010, Member (2010 - 2010)
Visiting Writer, Diné College. Tsaile, AZ., Visiting Writer (2010 - 2010)
ASU Department of English Election Committee, Committee member (2009 - 2010)
The Phoenix Symphony Orchestra, Poetry judge (2010 - 2010)
Search Committee to hire Indigenous American Literary scholar 2009-2010, Chair (2009 - 2010)
ASU Fall Graduation Convocation, School of Interdisciplinary Studies, Faculty representative (2009 - 2009)
Save the 88 Committee, Script Narrator (2009 - 2009)
Spartanburg Public Library, Spartanburg, So. Carolina, Invited speaker (2009 - 2009)
American Indian Scholar Circle, Speaker (2009 - 2009)
University of AZ Poetry Center, Reading and lecture (2004 - 2009)

Expertise Areas

Indigenous American Literatures

Film and Media Studies

Creative Writing

Poetry