Customer Reviews

Native American Songs and Poems: An Anthology (Dover Thrift Editions)

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"Native American Songs and Poems: An Anthology," edited by Brian Swann, is an impressive volume overall. At 56 pages, it is a concise but rich anthology. The book can basically be broken down into two sections: (1) traditional ethnic songs from various cultures, and (2) poems by contemporary Native American authors, again representing many cultures.

The traditional material includes the Seminole "Song for Bringing a Child into the World," the Navajo "Hymn of the Horse," the Pima "Quail Song," and more. Contemporary authors included are Beth Brant (of the Mohawk people), Joy Harjo (Muscogee), Simon J. Ortiz (Acoma Pueblo), and others.

The book contains a useful bibliography. However, there is almost no biographical data on each contemporary author, and very little data on the various nations represented. The book would have been stronger if such data had been included. Still, this is a beautiful and enriching anthology. Topics covered include spirituality, animal and plant life, conflict with Eurocentric culture, Native language loss, and more. Some of the best poems include Joseph Bruchac's moving "Geese Flying over a Prison Sweat Lodge"; Maurice Kenny's sensuous, mystical "Sky Woman"; and Carter Revard's deeply spiritual "What the Eagle Fan Says." I recommend this book both for classroom use and for general reading.

...but I have to ask how 50 pages can possibly be considered to constitute an anthology.

I'll admit it was the poetry (which is mostly if not completely modern) rather than the traditional songs which attracted my attention. In particular, I quite liked "This Is No Movie of Noble Savages" by Adrian Louis and the poems by Sherman Alexie. One thing in particular that annoyed me with this book, however, was what would seem to be an anachronism perpetuated by the translator(s). Namely, several traditional Native American songs in the book from different tribes refer to 'the Milky Way'. Now, I don't know what the words are that these were translated from, but I'm fairly sure that there weren't any Native Americans (or anybody else at th time) that were calling anything a Milky Way.

This collection is a nice cross-section of Native American songs and poetry. It includes everything from traditional lullabyes to works by prominent modern Native American authors. Male and female authors are both well represented. This a good introduction for readers unacquainted with this facet of Native American literature.

Given the authorship of the poems, the general topics come as no surprise. No group more venerates nature and what she provides, so the poems celebrate that as well as lamenting the loss of much of that nature and the Native American culture. While there is an occasional hint of resentment towards the White Man, the majority of the verse describes the culture of the Native Americans and how they lived their lives, the songs they sang and how they expressed their deep reverence for the world.
The tribe of the origin of the poem is identified under the title of each piece, which allows the discerning reader some context concerning the message being expressed. Some examples of the tribes are: Navajo, Osage, Haida, Chickasaw, Arapaho and Cherokee. At times, I would look up the region of origin to determine the geographical location where the cultural roots were formed. The climate changes dramatically in the United States as one moved from the hot, wet Southeast section, to the plains and mountains and then to the hot, dry region of the Southwest. It is only natural that the expressions of nature in the Native American songs would have dramatic differences from region to region.
The most interesting and simultaneously the most bitter entry is "How to Write the Great American Indian Novel", by Sherman Alexie. It references much of the history of white-Indian interaction and the occasionally absurd way in which Native Americans are portrayed in print and on screen.