Erika T. Wurth Books in Order

These poems portray Native people in towns and cities, exploring family, community, hardship, and cultural belonging. Mixed-tribe urban lives emerge through troubled and ordinary encounters alike, challenging the idea that Indigenous identity can be found only on reservations.

Sixteen-year-old Margaritte deals drugs in a Colorado town marked by poverty and addiction. Dreaming of escape with an unreliable boyfriend, she faces the pressures of pregnancy and the fear that her future is closing around her.

Set largely in Albuquerque and the desert Southwest, these poems examine intimacy, cruelty, beauty, and longing. Moving between prose and narrative forms, the collection follows people reaching for connection and transcendence amid the damage love can leave behind.

Interconnected stories enter the world of Native American filmmaking through actors, directors, and dancers pursuing recognition. Fame, exploitation, and disappointment shape their lives as creative ambition collides with an industry’s expectations and the personal costs of trying to succeed.

Fleeing an abusive home, Matthew is taken in by Chris and introduced to an Albuquerque gang. As Chris pursues greater power in the drug trade, Matthew’s love for his mentor’s girlfriend adds personal danger to an increasingly violent life.

When Kari receives a bracelet that belonged to her absent mother, visions and a mysterious creature disturb her life in Denver. Investigating what really happened forces her to confront family secrecy, old loss, and the relationships shaping her present.

Naiche dreams of following her scientist parents into space exploration. Drawing on her mother’s Apache and Chickasaw heritage, she imagines meeting beings from another planet, connecting her family’s traditions with her curiosity about the universe.

Paranormal investigator Olivia gains the ability to see spirits after her sister’s mysterious death. A Denver hotel hires her to investigate recurring deaths in one room, drawing her toward a dangerous cult and secrets about the sister she mourns.