The Crooked Stovepipe: Athapaskan Fiddle Music and Square Dancing in Northeast Alaska and Northwest Canada (Music in American Life) [Hardcover]

Craig Mishler (Author)

Book Description

Series: Music in American Life | Publication Date: August 1, 1993

Named for a popular local fiddle tune, The Crooked Stovepipe is a rollicking, detailed, first-ever study of the indigenous fiddle music and social dancing enjoyed by the Gwich'in Athapaskan Indians and other tribal groups in northeast Alaska, the Yukon, and the northwest territories. Though the music has obvious roots in the British Isles, French Canada, and the American South, the Gwich'in have used it in shaping their own aesthetic, which is apparent in their choice of fiddle tunings, bowing techniques, foot clogging, and a distinctively stratified tune repertoire. Craig Mishler treats this rural subarctic artistic tradition as a distinctive regional style akin to Cajun, bluegrass, or string-band music. He uses convergence theory as the framework for showing how this aesthetic came about. His skillful use of personal anecdotes, interviews, music examples, dance diagrams, and photographs will appeal to general readers interested in folk music and dance, as well as to specialists.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 256 pages
• Publisher: University of Illinois Press (August 1, 1993)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0252019962
• ISBN-13: 978-0252019968
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 6.3 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,211,098 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Fiddlers come in many different Cultures, May 3, 2001

By 

Racheal Ramage (Palmer, Alaska) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Crooked Stovepipe: Athapaskan Fiddle Music and Square Dancing in Northeast Alaska and Northwest Canada (Music in American Life) (Hardcover)

I personally have just finsihed a course in college with the author Craig Mishler. I also completed a project by going to an Athapaskan Fiddling festival and that is when I read the Crooked Stovepipe. This book goes in great detail about Athapaskan fiddlers and dancers and there orgin. The author went to every village mentioned in the book and took notes and made observations. The author is a white man and has no realtion to the alaska natives which is intersting to recieve the observations from a white man. Mishler focused on the Upper river style of Athapaskan music and just slighty touched upn the down river music. This book is a great read and very interseting. It is intersting because it shows us that fiddling is not only down in Nashville on the Grand Ole Opry but it is done in many different cultures and parts of the world. For each culture there is there own style of music.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Good way to learn, March 3, 2009

By 

G. Pope (Alaska USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Crooked Stovepipe: Athapaskan Fiddle Music and Square Dancing in Northeast Alaska and Northwest Canada (Music in American Life) (Hardcover)

The first time my sisters and I were invited to dance in a square dance type reel at the Athabascan Old-Time Fiddling Festival in Fairbanks Alaska, we were lucky to have very experienced gentlemen to guide us through the movements. However, after reading this book, I have gained an appreciation for the fiddlers themselves, the culture around this form of fun and entertainment, and a strong desire to return to the festival each year.
The book itself shows the depth of a very rich cultural tradition and the author's participation and observations are so insightful that it breeds greater respect for something that is still "a bunch of fun!"