No Country for Eight-Spot Butterflies

A Lyric Essay

By: Julian Aguon

Narrated by: Michael Ignacio

Part memoir, part manifesto, Chamorro climate activist Julian Aguon's No Country for Eight-Spot Butterflies is a coming-of-age story and a call for justice—for everyone, but in particular, for Indigenous peoples.

In bracing poetry and compelling prose, Aguon weaves together stories from his childhood in the villages of Guam with searing political commentary about matters ranging from nuclear weapons to global warming. Undertaking the work of bearing witness, wrestling with the most pressing questions of the modern day, and reckoning with the challenge of truth-telling in an era of rampant obfuscation, he culls from his own life experiences—from losing his father to pancreatic cancer to working for Mother Teresa to an edifying chance encounter with Sherman Alexie—to illuminate a collective path out of the darkness.

A powerful, bold, new voice writing at the intersection of Indigenous rights and environmental justice, Julian Aguon is entrenched in the struggles of the people of the Pacific to liberate themselves from colonial rule, defend their sacred sites, and obtain justice for generations of harm. In No Country for Eight-Spot Butterflies, Aguon shares his wisdom and reflections on love, grief, joy, and triumph and extends an offer to join him in a hard-earned hope for a better world.

©2022 Julian Aguon (P)2022 Tantor

Great storytelling

Sometimes hard to listen to due to the violence of people against others as well as against the land. Beautiful testament to his native Guam and other Pacific Islanders.

Well written

The book was well written and provided a view to many issues that I’ve previously overlooked or had flat out ignored. It also brought back memories of growing up on the island of Guam. Though I am of Filipino descent, I consider Guam my home. My children are 1/2 Chamoru and take pride in their blended roots. My only wish was that the narrator was more knowledgeable in the pronunciation of the Chamorro language used with the book. As I feel it takes away from the book what the author is trying to preserve and that is the way of life of the indigenous people of Guam and the Chamoru language is big part of this.