Poet and artist Layli Long Soldier returns with We, a powerful new collection that explores identity, history and the connections between people. Published by Graywolf Press on 6 October 2026, the book combines poetry, personal essays and visual artwork.
Long Soldier uses language to examine what it means to belong to a community. Her work looks at family, nation, history and shared experience. It also considers how words can carry both personal memories and the weight of wider historical events.
The meaning behind We
The title has more than one meaning. In English, “we” is a first-person plural pronoun. It brings people together through a shared sense of identity.
However, the title also connects to the Lakota word “Wé”, meaning blood. This link gives the collection another layer of meaning. It brings together ideas of family, ancestry, connection and what people share.
Long Soldier explores these themes through different forms of writing. The book moves between poems, lyric essays and visual pieces. This structure allows her to approach history through both language and images.
Poetry shaped by history
A central part of We considers the relationship between Indigenous communities, historical agreements and collective memory.
One piece, “184 X’s”, reflects on the 184 X marks signed to a broken treaty. The marks become a visual reminder of promises, land and the passage of time.
Long Soldier also uses artwork to explore memory and cultural connection. Images of a winged dress, intricate Lakota star quilts and other visual details help express ideas that words alone may not fully capture.
The result is a collection that brings personal experience into conversation with wider questions about history and responsibility.
Continuing the work of WHEREAS
Long Soldier is a citizen of the Oglala Lakota Nation. She previously received major recognition for WHEREAS, which won the National Book Critics Circle Award and the PEN/Jean Stein Book Award.
Her new collection continues her interest in language and the way it shapes public understanding. Rather than treating poetry as something separate from history, she uses it to question how stories are told, remembered and passed on.
We also creates space for collaboration, mentorship and shared knowledge. Its combination of writing and visual art invites readers to look closely at the connections between words, images and identity.
A collection about what connects us
With We, Layli Long Soldier offers a thoughtful exploration of community and belonging. The book considers how history lives within language, family and cultural memory.
Its title suggests unity, but the collection also recognises the complex experiences that shape that unity. Through poetry, essays and artwork, Long Soldier creates a work that asks readers to think about what they inherit, what they share and what they carry forward.
