Synopses & Reviews
James Welch was one of the central figures in twentieth-century American Indian literature, and The Heartsong of Charging Elk is of particular importance as the culminating novel in his canon. A historical novel, Heartsong follows a Lakota (Sioux) man at the end of the nineteenth century as he travels with Buffalo Billandrsquo;s Wild West show; is left behind in Marseille, France; and then struggles to overcome many hardships, including a charge for murder. In this novel Welch conveys some of the lifeways and language of a traditional Sioux.and#160;Here for the first time is a literary companion to James Welchandrsquo;s Heartsong that includes an unpublished chapter of the first draft of the novel; selections from interviews with the author; a memoir by the authorandrsquo;s widow, Lois Welch; and essays by leading scholars in the field on a wide range of topics. The rich resources presented here make this volume an essential addition to the study of James Welch and twentieth-century Native American literature.
Review
andldquo;As the final novel of one of the most significant writers of the twentieth century, The Heartsong of Charging Elk is immensely important. This valuable collection honors that legacy. By turns thought provoking, funny, and provocative, the essays in [this book] comprise a noteworthy contribution to Native American studies scholarship.andrdquo;andmdash;Lisa Tatonetti, author of The Queerness of Native American Literatureand#160;
Review
andldquo;Some of todayandrsquo;s most prominent scholars in Native American literature have contributed to this first-of-its-kind volume on James Welchandrsquo;s last novel. Such a collection is essential to exploring the tremendous impact of Welchandrsquo;s work within American literature as a whole.andrdquo;andmdash;Lionel Larrandeacute;, editor of John Milton Oskisonandrsquo;s Tales of the Old Indian Territory and associate professor of English at the Universitandeacute; Michel de Montaigne Bordeaux 3and#160;
Synopsis
In this dynamic collection of essays, Arnold Krupat, one of the leading critics of American Indian writing, storytelling, and film, offers insightful and provocative analyses of representations by and about Native peoples, past and present. He considers the relations between tricksters in traditional and contemporary stories, the ways in which Native peoples were depicted in mainstream American literature in the mid-nineteenth century, and how modern Cherokee authors look back upon and represent the forced removal of their ancestors from the Southeast in the 1830s. He also examines the writings of the famed Pequot public intellectual William Apess (1798-1839) and the complex communicative strategies informing the contemporary prize-winning Inuit film Atanarjuat, the Fast Runner. All That Remains not only showcases one of the most influential scholars in the field but also establishes a bold agenda for Native literary criticism in the twenty-first century.
Synopsis
The Turn to the Native is a timely account of Native American literature and the critical writings that have grown up around it. Arnold Krupat considers racial and cultural “essentialism,” the ambiguous position of non-Native critics in the field, cultural “sovereignty” and “property,” and the place of Native American culture in a so-called multicultural era. Chapters follow on the relationship of Native American culture to postcolonial writing and postmodernism. Krupat comments on the recent work of numerous Native writers. The final chapter, “A Nice Jewish Boy among the Indians,” presents the authors effort to balance his Jewish and working-class heritage, his adherence to Western “critical” ideals, and his ongoing loyalty to the values of Native cultures.
About the Author
Arnold Krupat is a professor of literature in the Global Studies Faculty Group at Sarah Lawrence College. He is the author of numerous books, including Red Matters: Native American Studies, The Turn to the Native: Studies in Criticism and Culture (available in a Bison Books edition), and the coeditor (with Brian Swann) of I Tell You Now: Autobiographical Essays by Native American Writers, also available in a Bison Books edition.