Ketteler has taught literature and composition. In this essay, she discusses the way the poem "Bidwell Ghost" is shaped and informed by Native American spirituality.

"Bidwell Ghost"by Louise Erdrich is, on one level, a ghost story. The poem tells the story of a young girl, killed twenty years ago in a house fire. Since her death, the girl haunts the road by the house, inviting herself into the cars and thoughts of passers-by. But the ghost-child is much more than an eerie presence on a lonely stretch of road.

Erdrich is a gifted storyteller, and both her novels and her poetry reflect her gift for language. She also has Native American heritage, which shapes and informs her writing in many ways. Knowing that Erdrich is Native American and writes about Native Americans can sharpen and enrich our reading of "Bidwell Ghost"—though it certainly does not...