Here First: Autobiographical Essays by Native American Writers (Modern Library Paperbacks) [Paperback]

Arnold Krupat (Editor), Brian Swann (Editor)

Book Description

Series: Modern Library Paperbacks | Publication Date: June 13, 2000

Here First is an important new collection of essays by Native American writers compiled by Arnold Krupat and Brian Swann, the editors of I Tell You Now: Autobiographical Essays by Native American Writers. In Here First, authors such as Sherman Alexie, Greg Sarris, and Elizabeth Woody tell the stories of their lives and their art. Each essay demonstrates the breadth of experience of twenty-seven individuals united in the creative expression of a Native American heritage. Each has a different relation to that heritage, and in describing it through personal and family history, with verse and in anecdotes, the writers give a strong image of the different cultures that have shaped them. This is living history and the kind of collective memoir that makes for fascinating and rewarding reading--one of the most vivid and diverse portraits of Native American culture available today.

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

This anthology of 26 essays is a follow-up to I Tell You Now (1978). The authors, born mostly in the 1940s or after, come from many different tribes. Some are full blood, others mixed; some were raised on a reservation, others weren't; and some are well known, others obscure. They are professors, artists, poets, novelists, playwrights, social workers, and more. Krupat (English, Sarah Lawrence Coll.) and Swann (English, Cooper Union) assert that the essays reflect not only how many different ways there are to be Indian today but also how many different ways there are to write about these experiences. After a misanthropic description of American life, W.S. Penn admits, "The problem is that I don't really hate America. I hate the fact that what I want America to do is like me." Rex Lee Jim declares, "When I realized that everything matters, I immediately knew that my destiny was completely in my control." Vickie Sears calls writing "a wind" and a "moving in dreamdance." Like the previous anthology, this collection is a mixed bag but still a valuable contribution to Native American studies and literary scholarship.DNancy P. Shires, East Carolina Univ., Greenville, NC
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist

Growing up Native American is unlike any other experience, although questions of identity and the struggle to find a place in the dominant culture resonate meaningfully to readers from all backgrounds. As Rex Lee Jim, one of the 26 contemporary Native American writers who contributed autobiographical essays to this striking collection, writes, "It's somewhat funny to know that the very personal is also the most common and therefore universal." Like many others, he focuses on the power of language, in his case, a Navajo prayer taught to him by his grandfather. Betty Louise Bell writes that as a child she "trusted words" to save her from the hardships of her poor, semiliterate family. Sherman Alexie's ironic and athletically graceful essay is the most dynamic, but each self-portrait compellingly discloses a unique facet of Native American life and of literature, which preserves memory, makes sense out of suffering, and renders revelations poetic. Donna Seaman
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

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Product Details

• Paperback: 448 pages
• Publisher: Modern Library; 1st edition (June 13, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0375751386
• ISBN-13: 978-0375751387
• Product Dimensions: 5.5 x 1 x 8.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #458,445 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #100 in Books > Literature & Fiction > United States > Native American

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Truly fantastic book!, April 7, 2002

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Anonymous (Illinois USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Here First: Autobiographical Essays by Native American Writers (Modern Library Paperbacks) (Paperback)

This is one of the best books I've read in a long time. Each chapter is written by an author who shares some of his or her life with the reader - each from different tribes and nations. Not your typical "mystical, Lakota focused, written for a white audience" book. I purchased this book to help other non-Native people like myself understand and develop a broader awareness of the experience of literary Native America and it was well worth the time. I highly recommend this book. It's a great way to introduce yourself to new authors as well.