No Country for Eight-Spot Butterflies
A Lyric Essay
by Julian Aguon
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Pub Date Sep 13 2022 | Archive Date Aug 30 2022
Astra Publishing House | Astra House
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Description
A Library Journal "BEST BOOK OF 2022"
"Aguon’s book is for everyone, but he challenges history by placing indigenous consciousness at the center of his project . . . the most tender polemic I’ve ever read."
—Lenika Cruz, The Atlantic
"It's clear [Aguon] poured his whole heart into this slim book . . . [his] sense of hope, fierce determination, and love for his people and culture permeates every page."
—Laura Sackton, BookRiot
Part memoir, part manifesto, Chamorro climate activist Julian Aguon’s No Country for Eight-Spot Butterflies is a collection of essays on resistance, resilience, and collective power in the age of climate disaster; and a call for justice—for everyone, but in particular, for Indigenous peoples.
In bracing poetry and compelling prose, Aguon weaves together stories from his childhood in the villages of Guam with searing political commentary about matters ranging from nuclear weapons to global warming. Undertaking the work of bearing witness, wrestling with the most pressing questions of the modern day, and reckoning with the challenge of truth-telling in an era of rampant obfuscation, he culls from his own life experiences—from losing his father to pancreatic cancer to working for Mother Teresa to an edifying chance encounter with Sherman Alexie—to illuminate a collective path out of the darkness.
A powerful, bold, new voice writing at the intersection of Indigenous rights and environmental justice, Julian Aguon is entrenched in the struggles of the people of the Pacific to liberate themselves from colonial rule, defend their sacred sites, and obtain justice for generations of harm. In No Country for Eight-Spot Butterflies, Aguon shares his wisdom and reflections on love, grief, joy, and triumph and extends an offer to join him in a hard-earned hope for a better world.
Advance Praise
“A powerful, beautiful book. Its fierce love—of the land, the ocean, the elders, and the ancestors—warms the heart and moves the spirit.”
—Alice Walker, author of Taking the Arrow Out of the Heart
“Powerful with love, and tender about what it needs to be tender about, and direct, even fierce where it means to tell us what we need to be thinking about what we’ve been doing to this world, to Aguon’s people, and to Indigenous people everywhere, to the land and to all its beings . . . as the dying eight-spot butterfly he writes about, strong and luminous as a needed beacon in a fog of disinformation and dismay, Julian Aguon with this small book emerges already a giant.”
—Tommy Orange, author of There, There
“I did not know I needed this book until it had me in its embrace like the oldest and dearest of friends, from the very first page . . . With bottomless love for his people and place, Aguon guides us through a portal to the Pacific, sharing deep insights earned from life on the existential knife’s edge.”
—Naomi Klein, author of How to Change Everything: The Young Human’s Guide to Protecting the Planet and Each Other
“Inspired spiritual and practical wisdom from a Guam lawyer/poet/seer that transmits ways of knowing, feeling, and acting, which speak directly to the mind and heart of everyone on the planet. If reading this short book doesn’t change your life, nothing will.”
—Richard Falk, professor emeritus of international law at Princeton University
“A breathtaking book and I mean it—this book took my breath away . . . alive with passion, wisdom, and heart, you can almost feel its pulse. A call not only for justice but for a brand-new covenant with our world.”
—Junot Díaz, author of The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao, winner of the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction
“Aguon’s pen is a spear. He has the unerring ability to pierce the heart of any matter he writes about, from colonialism to climate change, and he writes in a way that both exposes horrors and expresses love to the young.”
—Noenoe K. Silva, author of Aloha Betrayed
“This book is a gift—full of beauty, truth telling, and love. This book will enlighten and inspire anyone interested in understanding and doing something about colonialism, capitalism, racism, militarism, war, and violence of all kinds. As importantly, this book will move you emotionally. It will move you to change how you live your life. It will move you to help change the world for the better.”
—David Vine, author of Base Nation and The United States of War
“Aguon is one of Oceania’s most important thinkers who uses his ability to see through complicated systems to fight for our islands and peoples. With razor-sharp analysis and a ton of heart, he both defends and calls forth our communities. I will regularly return to this book for inspiration—to remind me why I do my own work.”
—Kathy Jetnil-Kijiner, author of Iep Jaltok: Poems from a Marshallese Daughter
“Aguon’s work transcends all boundaries and centers Indigenous relationships to people and place. Whether drawing on his legal or poetic skills, Aguon reckons with the rage and violence of colonialism while gently unfolding a new vision for justice and healing.”
—Holly Barker, author of Bravo for the Marshallese
“Aguon gifts us, in shrunken times, the indigenous version of the all-encompassing vision that Aristotle and his disciple Aquinas bequeathed humanity: truth equals beauty equals goodness.”
—Maivân Lâm, author of At the Edge of the State
“What an incredible gift. This book is a powerful spiritual remix, a multi-scalar tapestry of love, kinship, resistance, and creative survival from Oceania. His tribute to our late elder sister, Teresia, brought tears of grief and joy. Ko bati n rabwa Julian,
‘we will live . . . on our own terms.’”
—Katerina Martina Teaiwa, author of Consuming Ocean Island
“A celebration of Indigenous hope and survival amid the destructive and desecrating forces of militarism, capitalism, and climate change, and a provocation for collective action for just and sustainable futures in the Marianas—a must read for anyone interested in the beauty of Indigenous worlds and struggles for liberation!”
—Christine Taitano DeLisle, author of Placental Politics
“Reading this collection reminds me of being immersed in our ocean. The sunlight that illuminates the water cannot be held, and yet to behold the ways rays and sea dance together opens the soul . . . Aguon is one of Oceania’s most brilliant advocates and expansive voices—a voice that urgently needs to be heard.”
—Noelani Goodyear-Ka‘ōpua, author of The Seeds We Planted
“A devastatingly gentle song of resistance.”
—Jonathan K. K. Osorio, author of Dismembering Lāhui
“Aguon tells the Chamorro story by merging a profound love for our indigenous people and culture with his potent intellect and creative genius.”
—Anne Perez Hattori, author of Colonial Dis-Ease
Available Editions
| EDITION | Other Format |
| ISBN | 9781662601637 |
| PRICE | $23.00 (USD) |
| PAGES | 128 |
Available on NetGalley
Featured Reviews
Karolina B, Bookseller
I am still processing the book and my assumptions that I had before I sat down to read it. You know - we are used to tackling topics such as climate change or colonialism in two ways: we either use a lot of complicated words, lots of data, or.... we we over-simplify it to the point that it becomes a meme, a short post on social media that can be easily shared.
And there comes Aguon with his essays and poetry (!), which didn't take away even a bit of the importance of the topic, or I would even say - somehow made his arguments stronger. There is still so much we can (have to) learn from indigenous people, from how they talk about nature, land, water. Hard data, shocking predictions and constant news haven't done much to convince us that we need to act now. I somehow want to believe that maybe on top of "hard" science, what we need is to reconnect, to love, to feel. And somehow Aguon's essays and poems inspired me to take one step closer towards that goal. You know, of looking around and appreciating what you have, whilst also not forgetting to fight within the systems already in place.
I would love to read more of his essays. An important voice to everyone who wants to learn about climate change, about Guam, US imperialism. But perhaps most importantly - about the need of personal stories in how we talk about all of this.
Reviewer 811157
This book is... so much more than I expected. A collection from an indegneous climate activist and lawyer that range from essays to speeches given at graduations to poems. Part memoir, part political commentary this collection hit hard. It had me highlighting on nearly every page and feeling every emotion.
I do not have words that can do the impact of this work justice. All I can say is please read it!
Reviewer 203820
Julian Aguon is a human rights lawyer and defender from Guam. “No Country for Eight-Spot Butterflies” is a collection of poems, essays and speeches which center around crucial topics such as colonisation, climate change and the rights of indigenous populations. In total, it forms into a manifesto for the respect of life on earth, no matter if human, animal or plant. He gives insight in his own process of growing up, of gaining insight and learning that even though we as humans should care for the same ideas and aims, the world often works with other mechanisms.
The author has formed a strong voice which immediately captures the reader. In the afterword, he states what he thinks is crucial at the moment, it is not being loud, but to listen. He does not use an accusatory tone, but a quite voice which makes you concentrate more on what is said, paying more attention and reading more closely.
Some of the essays provided new information to me, in others, it was mainly the perspective that was new and which I have ignored so far. It is beautifully written despite the seriousness of the topic and the increasing urgency for action.
An outstanding collection that definitely does leave an impact on the reader.
yanique t, Reviewer
5 stars
I am grateful to the publisher Astra Publishing House for sending me an advanced copy of this book for review.
Wow, what an amazing read! This collection of essays really showcases the breadth of sentiments surrounding the colonial identity of Guam, and the daily pressures the native people face. I have been meaning to read from this author for a long time, but I still haven't gotten around to The Properties of Perpetual Light; however, I will remedy that soon because this memoir just made me more eager for novel by Aguon.
In this memoir we cover so much ground, which is quite remarkable for a work of such few pages. The combination of anecdotes from the life of the author, as well as harrowing descriptions of larger historical events that affected and continue to affect the people of the Pacific, was gripping, emotional, and angering. However, the author does weave a thread of hope through all of these stories encoraging us to not simply sink into despair at the state of things, but to look forward to change. This book talks about government, the environment and climate change, expectations placed on the shoulders of the youth, writing, activism, and the importance of identity and heritage.
The writing here was stunning, and every essay was impactful and thought provoking. Have you ever wondered if it’s possible for writing to be simultaneously raw and polished? With this prose, Aguon says a resounding yes. I think everybody needs to read this book, so... I recommend this book to everyone.
Laura R, Reviewer
No Country for Eight-Spot Butterflies is a great book, personal and global and everything in between. It will definitely be in my top five reads of the year. Julian Aguon is a human rights attorney. His childhood spent in the villages of Guam has made him keenly aware of the issues facing indigenous peoples and the dangers of colonialism. This slim volume of poems, essays, and speeches emphasizes the importance of bearing witness and packs more punch per page than any book I have read in a long time. His passion and insight reminds me of another great writer and environmentalist, Barry Lopez. As I set the book aside, I feel laden with the collective guilt of the United States political d there is no excuse for our failure, once known, to fix what we have damaged. I wholeheartedly recommend No Country for Eight-Spot Butterflies: A Lyric Essay.
I received a drc from Astra Publishing House via Netgalley.
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