Wolves and the Wolf Myth in American Literature [Paperback]

S.K. Robisch (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 28, 2009

The wolf is one of the most widely distributed canid species, historically ranging throughout most of the Northern Hemisphere. For millennia, it has also been one of the most pervasive images in human mythology, art, and psychology. Wolves and the Wolf Myth in American Literature examines the wolf’s importance as a figure in literature from the perspectives of both the animal’s physical reality and the ways in which writers imagine and portray it. Author S. K. Robisch examines more than two hundred texts written in North America about wolves or including them as central figures. From this foundation, he demonstrates the wolf’s role as an archetype in the collective unconscious, its importance in our national culture, and its ecological value. Robisch takes a multidisciplinary approach to his study, employing a broad range of sources: myths and legends from around the world; symbology; classic and popular literature; films; the work of scientists in a number of disciplines; human psychology; and field work conducted by himself and others. By combining the fundamentals of scientific study with close readings of wide-ranging literary texts, Robisch astutely analyzes the correlation between actual, living wolves and their representation on the page and in the human mind. He also considers the relationship between literary art and the natural world, and argues for a new approach to literary study, an ecocriticism that moves beyond anthropocentrism to examine the complicated relationship between humans and nature.

Editorial Reviews

Review

“Robisch raises ecocriticism to a new level of interdisciplinary rigor and range. His wolf book should become a new model for the study of animals in literature.” -- Glen Love, author of Practical Ecocriticism: Literature, Biology, and the Environment
 

“This book offers a paradigm of ecocriticism that is based on thorough knowledge of its subject (both the literature and the animal that inspired it), and that draws on science and at every step considers the implications that our stories have on our relationship with the actual world—or in this case, with real wolves.” -- Ian Marshall, author of Peak Experiences: Walking Meditations on Literature, Nature, and Need
 

"Wolves and the Wolf Myth in American Literature is dense with information, but Robisch is a companionable, disarming, and clear-thinking guide."-- Oregon Historical Quarterly
 

"S. K. Robisch's work wonderfully confronts wolves in American literature and culture as an ecological reality from which human readers, scholars, and critics simply cannot escape." -- Studies in American Naturalism

About the Author

S. K. Robisch is a former professor of American Literature and American Studies. He is currently an independent scholar who lives in Indiana with his wife, Patricia Henley, and their several pets.

Product Details

• Paperback: 512 pages
• Publisher: University of Nevada Press (May 28, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0874177731
• ISBN-13: 978-0874177732
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6.1 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.6 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #399,784 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars At the very least, a howling good read, November 8, 2009

By 

r. "renee" (Pueblo, Colombia) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Wolves and the Wolf Myth in American Literature (Hardcover)

This book by S. K. Robisch is a truly exceptional piece of writing. It blends an enormous amount of research with a clarity that is rare in many such works. It is impressively backed with scholarship from a variey of fields as diverse as animal biology, psychology, history, and tribal spirituality. Robisch also makes use of images of the wolf in popular culture, such as fairytales and the current fascination with werewolf lore, to broaden the public perception of this flesh and blood entity. The point is made that the fate of the wolf and the fate of humanity itself may be more intimately bound together that might be imagined from casual observation. This book is no casual investigation of the complex relationships and systems shared by both man and wolf. The reader is invited to both observe the real lives and habits of wolves and to enter into the realm of myth and the archetype of the wolf as presented in American and world literature. The point is made several times that this creature that is so familiar to us is in fact a great unknown--a true mystery that invites exploration. The possible paradox presented here may be that even though we are invited in to examine this wonderful and wonderous animal, the animal itself may be best served if we simply left it alone.

1 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Genious, August 2, 2010

By 

Roghan - See all my reviews

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This review is from: Wolves and the Wolf Myth in American Literature (Paperback)

I am amazed at S. K. Robisch's ability to put his thoughts into words. This book is pure genious.