Hailed by Ezra Pound as the "American Ovid" and renowned as a linguist and a self-described "amateur anthropologist," Jaime de Angulo drew on his forty years among the Pit River tribe of California to create the amalgam of fiction, folklore, tall tales, jokes, ceremonial ritual, and adventure that is Indian Tales. He first wrote these stories to entertain his children, borrowing freely from the worlds of the Pit, and also of the Miwok, Pomo, and Karok. Here are the adventures of Father Bear, Mother Antelope, the little boy Fox, and, of course, Old Man Coyote in a time when people and animals weren't so very far apart. The author's intent was not so much to rer anthropologically faithful translations-though they are here-as to create a magical world fueled by the power of storytelling while avoiding the dangers for the romantic and picturesque. True to the playful and imaginative spirit he portrays, de Angulo mischievously recommends to readers: "When you find yourself searching for some mechanical explanation, if you don't know the answer, invent one. When you pick out some inconsistency or marvelous improbability, satisfy your curiosity like the old Indian folk: 'Well, that's the way they tell that story. I didn't make it up!'"
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Book Description
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Editorial Reviews
Review
"One of the most outstanding writers that I have ever encountered."--William Carlos Williams
"I am charmed by the book--text and pictures. It is no effort, of course, to be pleased by the sure touch-stories and animal drawings that are poetry, innate, humor-born, and wise."--Marianne Moore
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
"I am charmed by the book--text and pictures. It is no effort, of course, to be pleased by the sure touch-stories and animal drawings that are poetry, innate, humor-born, and wise."--Marianne Moore
About the Author
Jaime de Angulo was born in Paris in 1887. At eighteen he came to the United States, where he spent his first years as a ranch hand in the Far West. He later studied medicine at Johns Hopkins and served in the Medical Corps during World War I. He passed several decades with the Indian tribes of the Pacific Coast in roles varying from anthropologist to unofficial medicine man. He died in Berkeley in 1950.
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
An enchanting rendering of an Indian way of life,
By
This review is from: Indian Tales (Paperback)
Jaime de Angulo was a truly Californian character -- wanderer, poet, wastrel, anthropologist, linguist, and wild man; and near the end of his life he started retelling to his children the stories he'd learned from years of field work (and just hanging around) with the Pit River Indians of northern California. Out of those stories came this enchanting book, a semi-novel for children and wise adults, a series of stories both hilarious and profound told and experienced during a family's journey to visit relatives by the ocean. De Angulo's luminous vision gives us as intimate a picture of a Native American vision of life as any book I can think of. That this classic is not better known is a mystery....
9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A Classic for Adults & Kids Alike,
By
This review is from: Indian Tales (Paperback)
This book has been one of my all time favourites for many years. One of the copies in my possession featured a cover blurb by William Carlos Williams, extolling its virtues. Having read it aloud to two generations of children, I can vouch for its beauty as an oral experience - brilliant, clear and transforming in its tale of a prototypical human-animal family traveling through a mythical California, encountering many amazing figures (Loon, Coyote, the Flint People) on their way. Kids (and adults) readily identify with the family dynamics among the characters. Really can't recommend too highly.
0 of 11 people found the following review helpful:
2.0 out of 5 stars
suitable for children,
By n.rivot (Rockville, MD United States) - See all my reviews
Amazon Verified Purchase(What's this?)
This review is from: Indian Tales (California Legacy) (Paperback)
I thought this was only a mediocre collection of tales, not especially well told, and that it properly belongs in the Children's books category
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