Poetry

Edward J. Herdrich’s poetic voice is informed by over twenty years of working as a Licensed Private Detective, three years with the United States Army Military Police, a BA in English from UIC, years of camping and gardening, and is  inspired by nature, the time he has spent with Native American people, and his six intelligent, compassionate, strong and beautiful children.

Samantha Rose Johnson Series

Samantha Rose Johnson is a tough, cynical, but law-school educated, licensed private detective working in Elgin, Illinois. From growing up biracial in the tough South Sangamon neighborhood of Chicago in the seventies, to a tour with the United States Army Military Police Corps where she completed Air Assault training, Sam knows what life can throw at you.

Coming Soon

Spirit Warrior: Path of the White Wolf Trilogy (Young Adult Fiction)

In "Spirit Warrior: Path of the White Wolf," Taela, a young Lakota girl destined to be a Spirit Warrior, navigates her mystical calling amid familial and global turmoil. Guided by her late grandfather's spirit and mystical allies, she faces threats both spiritual and earthly. This Young Adult series melds rich Lakota traditions with a fantastical narrative, exploring heroism in challenging times.

Book One: Taela Finds Her Path
Book Two: Battle For Ina Maka
Book Three: Hope is a Fading Sunset

Children’s Books:

Taela Makes a New Friend
Taela, Michelle and Sister Dragonfly
Taela, Michelle and the Two Fires
Taela and Michelle Ride the Bus
Taela, Michelle and the Ancestors


 

Latest Blog Posts


New American Realm

by edward j. herdrich

New American Realm

Indigenous peoples,

from the beginning ‘til now

indignities suffered

no mercy for thou.

When we arrived

thought to lend us a hand

broken treaties our answer,

method of taking the land.

Navajo women

their choice of creation stolen away,

Dakota warriors protecting their own,

With their lives they must pay.

Pettiness, petulance, anger and hate,

blend them together

make America great.

Indifference, intolerance,

Lack of empathy too,

Make up the new American stew.

Make up the new American stew.

Though perhaps the words

never drawn from their mighty pen

the truth of their actions -

make America male white again.

With Don the Con strong at the helm,

A new low for the American realm.

Black and brown peoples

not quite human, true patriots will insist,

built the country for us,

pleas for diversity, equity, inclusion, please desist.

From Angola, other countries too,

brought here without any choice,

cries of shared humanity,

please lower your voice.

Work our farms, fields, factories

and more, if you don’t mind

your presence we might find illegal,

to your employer’s violations, we’re quite blind.

Women, they have to say,

from Adam’s rib were born

so to them even today,

second-class is just the right way.

They will continue to try to define

the abilities women possess in their mind,

ever ignoring the contributions already made

in science, art and more, above the grade.

Women of color even much more so,

they can only see as less

when in truth, what they can’t say

their own inadequacy, source of distress.

Pettiness, petulance, anger and hate,

blend them together

make America great.

Indifference, intolerance,

Lack of empathy too,

Make up the new American stew.

Though perhaps the words

never drawn from their mighty pen

the truth of their actions -

make America male white again.

With Don the Con strong at the helm,

A new low for the American realm.