Swallowed Light

Nimipuutimpt, the language of the Nez Perce, is a critically endangered language, with fewer than 50 fluent speakers left in the world.

Swallowed Light is written in both English and Nimipuutimpt.

When asked to come up with a reason why he writes, Wasson said "I write because all my storytellers are dead."

This poetry is opulent and dreamlike, rich and visceral. The world Wasson creates is a world one cannot help but be drawn into.

With this first full-length collection, Wasson is an exciting emerging voice in contemporary poetry.

Wasson wrote Swallowed Light from the Japanese village in which he currently lives. He has a complex relationship with the idea of home, telling LitHub "I long to earn my way towards some sense of home."

Wasson grew up on the Nez Perce reservation, raised mostly by his grandfather.

He names Natalie Diaz, Ocean Vuong, Eduardo C. Corral, and Sherwin Bitsui as major influences on his poetry.