From Library Journal
This dictionary, produced by the Association for the Study of American Indian Literature, contains 40 critical-biographical essays on various writers spanning two time periods: the historical emergence of Native American writers (to 1800) and the Native American Renaissance (1967-). In addition to the biographical essays, there are more than 20 essays covering historical, literary, and cultural aspects such as the dream song and narrative. This organization of informational and biographical essays within major time periods will aid the user in understanding the context of an individual's writing. Each essay is signed and includes a lengthy bibliography, all of which will help collection development librarians seeking either to create or enhance a North American Indian literature collection. While there are good collections of North American Indian writing and criticism, among them Clouds Threw This Light (1983) and Native American Discourse: Poetics and Rhetoric (Cambridge Univ. Pr., 1987), no current books match this work; perhaps New Voices in Native American Literary Criticism (Smithsonian Institution Pr., 1993) comes closest with its mix of essays, discussions of authors, and ethnocritiques. Highly recommended for libraries with multicultural collections and for all other libraries where there is a perceived need.
Neal Wyatt, Richmond, Va.Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc.
In 1969, when N. Scott Momaday received the Pulitzer Prize for his
House Made of Dawn, academics searching for new worlds to explore turned their eyes to the virgin territory of Native American literature. Since that time they have struggled to apply Euro-American techniques of literary criticism as they have grappled with issues of authenticity, authorship, and oral versus written literature.
This book, edited by Wiget of New Mexico State University with the help of an advisory board, contains more than 70 essays by 52 members of the Association for the Study of American Indian Literatures. Do not be misled by the title--entries are not alphabetically arranged. Instead, scholarly essays are arranged by historical period: Native American oral literature, Indian writing to 1967, and from 1967 to the present. Each of the sections begins with an introductory essay by an advisory board member. The signed articles that follow, by scholars from the fields of anthropology, folklore, literature, and Native American studies, are readable and well researched. Each contains a helpful bibliography of primary and secondary sources. A single index combines subjects, authors, and titles.
The section on Native American oral literatures contains articles on such topics as the oral literature of specific regions, Native American tricksters, and myth and religion. The section on the emergence of Native American writing to 1967 covers such topics as women's autobiography and humor, followed by articles on specific authors (e.g., Black Elk, C. A Eastman, D'Arcy McNickle). The final section has essays on such topics as teaching Indian literature and critical approaches to Native American literature, followed by articles on such authors as Vine Deloria, Louise Erdrich, N. S. Momaday, Leslie Marmon Silko, and James Welch. A few topical articles on issues such as Indian policy are included in order to provide background material.
This reference work has breath and depth enough to satisfy most users. Each of the introductory essays is a gem. Wiget's essay on oral literature has an accessible explanation of mimetic, genetic, and intertextual poles. Although this work could easily be used as a textbook, academic libraries, many high-school libraries, and all libraries with collections of Native American studies will need a copy.
