Sky Loom - (Global Indigenous Literatures) by Brian Swann (Paperback)

Book Synopsis

Sky Loom offers a dazzling introduction to Native American myths, stories, and songs drawn from previous collections by acclaimed translator and poet Brian Swann. With a general introduction by Swann, Sky Loom is a stunning collection that provides a glimpse into the intricacies and beauties of story and myth, placing them in their cultural, historical, and linguistic contexts.

Each of the twenty-six selections is translated and introduced by a well-known expert on Native oral literatures and offers entry into the cultures and traditions of several different tribes and bands, including the Yupiit and the Tlingits of the polar North; the Coast Salish and the Kwakwaka'wakw of the Pacific Northwest; the Navajos, the Pimas, and the Yaquis of the Southwest; the Lakota Sioux and the Plains Crees of the Great Plains; the Ojibwes of the Great Lakes; the Naskapis and the Eastern Crees of the Hudson Bay area in Canada; and the Munsees of the Northeast. Sky Loom takes the reader on a wide-ranging journey through literary traditions older than the "discovery" of the New World.

Review Quotes

"A lovely, readable, and fascinating collection."--G. D. Macdonald, CHOICE

"Because of the great diversity in approach and content, this text as a whole or selected chapters could serve as an excellent resource for folklore and linguistic undergraduate courses and graduate seminars."--Joe Uchihrehuh Stahlman, Journal of Folklore Research

"The key to the value of this effort is Swann's refined taste for the field; he gives the reader the benefit of his experience. . . . [Sky Loom] will quickly prove its value to American Indian Studies programs, folkloristics, and ethnolinguistics."--Paul Apodaca, Western Folklore

About the Author

Brian Swann is a professor in the Department of Humanities and Social Sciences at the Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art. He is the author and editor of many books, including Voices from Four Directions: Contemporary Translations of the Native Literatures of North America (Nebraska, 2004), Algonquian Spirit: Contemporary Translations of the Algonquian Literatures of North America (Nebraska, 2005), and Coming to Light: Contemporary Translations of the Native Literatures of North America.