The Poetry of Tommy Pico

        Tommy Pico works very hard to avoid falling into stereotypes. As both an indigenous poet of the Kumeyaay Nation and a self-described “technology-addicted New Yorker,” much of his work attempts to square two identities which society perceives as incompatible. The second entry in his tetralogy of poetry books, Nature Poem, centers around his distaste for the titular form, the way it becomes “fodder for the noble savage / narrative.” Rather than reinforce the expectation that Native people should extol the beauty and power of nature, Pico writes that he would “slap a tree across the face” and promptly changes gears to a story about a hookup at a pizza parlor. He performs this move frequently throughout his poetry, uncomfortably juxtaposing digressions on nature and the genocide of his ancestors with his high-speed modern day life of dating apps and concerts. 

        Pico’s writing shows how he feels that he lacks the freedom to love nature without playing into a centuries-old system of oppression in which he is categorized as less than human. As someone who was raised to love and cherish nature and the outdoors, such a freedom feels like it should be a right for every person on this Earth. Hearing Pico’s concerns feels upsetting, as does the implicit question of whether my own “outdoorsy” upbringing would have transpired were it not for the historical subjugation of Native peoples. Pico’s poetry interests me precisely because it does not speak to my experience. In its determination to carve out space for its own voice, the poetry forces me as the reader to consider the larger forces shaping my lived experience and how they might affect others differently. While Pico’s tetralogy of poems is complete for the moment, I look forward to whatever future projects he turns his attention to next.

Buy Nature Poem here!