Cherokee Poetry by Kristine Carrerow

Kristine Carrerow was born in 1954 in San Jose, California, and she didn't have any experience with poetry until the third grade.   In the 8th grade, she had a teacher enter one of her poems in a contest, which she did not win. However, in her senior year in high school, Kristine had a teacher that was such a force in her writing that she knew she would always write.  Over the years, she stayed involved in writing classes and poetry readings, and The San Jose Mercury News published her 'Firefighters Tribute' poem in 2002. Ten years later, that same poem was published in a commemorative book for the 10th anniversary of the California Firefighter's Memorial- an accomplishment with significant meaning because her Grandfather's name is on that wall in Memorial Park in Sacramento, CA.  Kristine has written many memorial poems over the years, but she recently returned to her roots and began writing poems about the Cherokee Indians.  Her grandmother, Lora Ross, was very proud of her Cherokee heritage, and Kristine is also a Citizen of the Cherokee Nation. To honor that connection, she wrote a collection of poems reflecting Cherokee issues and stories, which she self-published during the pandemic as "Cherokee Poetry" and dedicated to her grandmother.  Kristine now lives in Tahlequah, Ok, about 40 miles from where her grandmother was born. Lora Lealer Ross was born June 20, 1890, in Webbers Falls, Oklahoma, and was the second youngest of nine siblings. She grew up on a farm in the heart of the Cherokee Nation, where she learned how to sew clothes, quilt, knit, can food, and find mischief with her sister, Nora. Lora was also fluent in the Cherokee Language- a language she would use to reclaim her identity later in life. She passed away at 91, but not before rekindling the Cherokee flame in her granddaughter, Kristine.  Poems used are Cherokee Trail, Cherokee Solidarity, Cherokee Missing, Cherokee Culture, and Cherokee Sisters.  __________________________________________________________________ Are you a poet? Want your work to be on the podcast? Then email [email protected] with your submissions! Also, don't forget to like, subscribe, and share!