ABSTRACT

Native American literature explores divides between public and private cultures, ethnicities and experience. In this volume, Joseph Coulombe argues that Native American writers use diverse narrative strategies to engage with readers and are ‘writing for connection’ with both Native and non-Native audiences.

Beginning with a historical overview of Native American literature, this book presents focused readings of key texts including:

• N. Scott Momaday’s House Made of Dawn

• Leslie Marmon Silko’s Ceremony

• Gerald Vizenor’s Bearheart

• James Welch’s Fool’s Crow

• Sherman Alexie’s The Lone Ranger and Tonto Fistfight in Heaven

• Linda Hogan’s Power.

Suggesting new ways towards a sensitive engagement with tribal cultures, this book provides not only a comprehensive introduction to Native American literature but also a critical framework through which it may be read.

chapter |17 pages

Introduction

Native American Literary Outreach and the Non-Native Reader

chapter |18 pages

Following the Tracks

History and Context of Native Writing

chapter |21 pages

Nothing But Words

From confrontation to Connection in N. Scott Momaday's House Made of Dawn

chapter |20 pages

Revitalizing the Original Clan

Participant Readers in Leslie Marmon Silko's Ceremony

chapter |19 pages

Individualism vs. Separation

Imagining The Self To Foster Unity via Gerald Vizenor's Bearheart

chapter |20 pages

Writing for Connection

Cross-Cultural Understanding in James Welch's Historical Fiction 1

chapter |23 pages

The Approximate Size of His Favorite Humor

Sherman Alexie's Comic Connections and Disconnections in the Lone Ranger and Tonto Fistfight in Heaven 1

chapter |17 pages

Stitching the Gap

Believing vs. Knowing in Linda Hogan's Power