Song of the Oktahutche - Annotated by Alexander Posey (Paperback)

Book Synopsis

Muscogee (Creek) writer and humorist Alexander Posey (1873-1908) lived most of his short but productive life in the Muscogee Nation, in what is now Oklahoma. He was an influential political spokesperson, an advocate for improving conditions in Indian Territory, and one of the most prominent American Indian literary figures of his era. One of Posey's dearest subjects was the Oktahutche River, which he so loved that he gave it voice in his poem, "Song of the Oktahutche." His poetry, drawing from Romantic European and Euro-American influences such as Robert Burns and John Greenleaf Whittier, became a sort of Indian Territory pastoral in which the Greek nymph Echo shares a river with Stechupco, the Tall Man spirit of the Muscogees.
Song of the Oktahutche collects for the first time all of Posey's poetry, which has until now been scattered in various rare volumes, either unpublished or replete with textual errors. His highly regarded poems constitute the largest body of Native poetry from the turn of the twentieth century. Matthew Wynn Sivils draws on extensive archival research to produce a complete, accurate, and meticulously annotated edition of Posey's poetry that will further enrich and personalize the legacy of this remarkable Native author.

Review Quotes

"Complete with an excellent introductory essay, annotations, and source notes, as well as the inclusion of multiple versions of some poems and a chronological presentation, this collection will be invaluable to scholars and students alike and would serve as an excellent example of a Native American artistic voice during the Allotment Era, with sufficient scholarly support provided by the editor in order to lead scholars and students toward further study."--Kirby Brown, American Indian Culture and Research Journal

"Posey must be one of the great semi-secrets of American literature. This edition helps bring Posey into the limelight, where many readers can at last appreciate his legacy. Besides reprinting the published poems, Song of the Oktahutche is chock-full of previously unpublished gems that deepen the picture of Posey's work. . . . Moreover, by turning to a rich archive of manuscripts, Sivils not only gives us poems we did not have before, but also gives us better versions of many of the poems that were (with dedicated research) already available."--Robert Dale Parker, author of The Invention of Native American Literature -- (3/25/2008 12:00:00 AM)

"The most prolific American Indian writer of his time, Posey offers perhaps the best opportunity to study Indian Territory at the turn of the twentieth century and to study him as a writer who found himself committed to both tribal culture and modern America. This study lays the groundwork for a major critical study of Posey as an American Indian literary intellectual."--Daniel F. Littlefield Jr., author of Alex Posey: Creek Poet, Journalist, and Humorist -- (3/25/2008 12:00:00 AM)

http: //nebraskapress.typepad.com/university_of_nebraska_pr/2009/01/linking-in-lincoln-january-1-2009.html-- (1/1/2009 12:00:00 AM)

About the Author

Matthew Wynn Sivils is an assistant professor of English at Iowa State University. He is the editor of Alexander Posey's Chinnubbie and the Owl: Muscogee (Creek) Stories, Orations, and Oral Traditions (Nebraska 2005).