Hogan, Linda (1947–)

Chickasaw poet, novelist, activist and playwright. Born July 17, 1947, in Denver, Colorado; dau. of Charles Henderson (Chickasaw) and Cleona Bower Henderson; University of Colorado, BA, MA, 1978; children: (adopted, 1979) Sandra Dawn Protector and Tanya Thunder Horse (both of Oglaga Lakota heritage).

Prolific writer, among the most influential and provocative Native American figures on the contemporary US literary scene, experienced rapid success, winning Five Civilized Tribes Playwriting Award for A Piece of Moon and appointed writer-in-residence for states of Colorado and Oklahoma (1980); became assistant professor in TRIBES program at Colorado College (1982); was associate professor of American Indian Studies at University of Minnesota, then of English at University of Colorado; poetry collections include Calling Myself Home (1979), Daughters, I Love You (1981), Eclipse (1983), Seeing Through the Sun (1985), Savings (1991) and The Book of Medicines (winner of Colorado Book Award, 1993); novels include Mean Spirit (1990) Solar Storms (winner of Colorado Book Award, 1995) and Power (1998); essay collections include Dwellings: Reflections on the Natural World (1995); nonfiction includes From Women's Experience to Feminist Theology (1995), The Sweet Breathing of Plants (2000) and Sightings (2002); short story collections include That Horse (1985) and Aunt Moon's Young Man (1989). Received Pushcart Prize (1991), Lannan Literary Award for Poetry (1994), Native Writer's Circle of Americas Lifetime Achievement Award (1998) and Wordcraft Circle Writer of the Year Award (2002).

See also memoir, The Woman Who Watches Over the World: A Native Memoir (Norton, 2001).