Studies in the Literary Achievement of Louise Erdrich, Native American Writer: Fifteen Critical Essays PDF
Preview Studies in the Literary Achievement of Louise Erdrich, Native American Writer: Fifteen Critical Essays
STUDIES IN THE LITERARY ACHIEVEMENT OF LOUISE ERDRICH, NATIVE AMERICAN WRITER STUDIES IN THE LITERARY ACHIEVEMENT OF LOUISE ERDRICH, NATIVE AMERICAN WRITER Fifteen Critical Essays Edited by Brajesh Sawhney With a Foreword by James Ruppert The Edwin Mellen Press LewistonoQueenstono Lampeter Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Studies in the literary achievement of Louise Erdrich, Native American writer: fifteen critical essays I edited by Brajesh Sawhney ; with a foreword by James Ruppert. p.cm. Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN-13: 978-0-7734-4911-4 ISBN-IO: 0-7734-4911-6 I. Erdrich, Louise-Criticism and interpretation. 2. American fiction-Indian authors- History and criticism. 3. Indians in literature. I. Sawhney, Brajesh. PS3555.R42Z882009 8 13'. 54-dc22 2009005198 hors serie. A CIP catalog record for this book is available from the British Library. Front cover illustration: "Chippewa Baby Carrier" Courtesy: Flickr.com Copyright © 2008 Brajesh Sawhney All rights reserved. For information contact The Edwin Mellen Press The Edwin Mellen Press Box 450 Box 67 Lewiston, New York Queenston, Ontario USA 14092-0450 CANADA LOS 1L O The Edwin Mellen Press, Ltd. Lampeter, Ceredigion, Wales UNITED KINGDOM SA48 8LT Printed in the United States of America To my parents CONTENTS Foreword Professor James Ruppert i Acknowledgements iii Introduction 1 Brajesh Sawhney 1. Mauser's Illness 11 Medical Humor in Erdrich's Four Souls Peter G. Beidler Karezza 12 Spermatorrhea 15 Gonorrhea 16 Locomotor Ataxia, Melancholic Neuralgia, Chlorosis 19 Gas Poisoning, Addiction 21 Medical Humor 24 2. Louise Erdrich and American Indian Literary Nationalism 29 Alan R. Velie 3. Flannery O'Connor and Louise Erdrich 49 The Function of the Grotesque in Erdrich's Tracks Thomas Matchie 4. A Hope for Miracles 63 Shifting Perspectives in Louise Erdrich's The Last Report on the Miracles at Little No Horse Annette Van Dyke 5. Trickster Narratives of the New World 75 Erdrich, Dorris, Columbus Deborah Madsen Of Trauma and Trickster 78 Louise Erdrich, Michael Dorris, Christopher Columbus 86 6. Plenty of food and no Government Agents 95 Perspectives on the Spirit World, Death and Dying in Louise Erdrich's Writings David T. McNab Introduction 95 The Names and Goin' Home 96 Goin' Home... 97 The Indigenous Notion of Time 98 Louise Erdrich and the Spirit World, On Death and Dying 99 The Blue Jay's Dance 99 Tracks 101 Tales ofB urning Love 102 The Birchbark House 106 The Last Report on the Miracles at Lillie No Horse 109 Retrospect 112 7. Drums Make Connections 115 Trauma, Memory and Healing in Louise Erdrich' s The Painted Drum Barbara Hiles Mesle 8. Vestiges from the Early American Captivity Narratives 133 Captivity, Land and Identity in Louise Erdrich's Fiction Holly Messitt 9. Real Names and Names that Fool the Dead 151 Erdrich's Onomastic Mysticism Harry J. Brown 10. "To, Sew is to Pray" 165 Disgorging the Speech of the Creator Melaine A. Hanson Disgorgement 168 Entredeux 171 Jouissance Through Bisexual Discourse 175 Generosity 178 Herstory 182 II.Razing Little Houses or Re-envisionary History 187 Louise Erdrich' s Story of the American Frontier in The Birchbark House and The Game of Silence Gretchen Papazian 12."Power from the In-between" 213 Dialogic Encounters in The Antelope Wife and The Last Report on the Miracles at Lillie No Horse Rachel Lister 13. "Affection and Freedom and the Will to Risk" 233 Female Resistance and European/American Women in Four Souls Ute Lischke 14. "The human heart is every bit as tangled as our road" 243 Six Memorable characters in the Fiction of Louise Erdrich Edited by Peter G. Beidler and Connie A. Jacobs "A different person than the young woman I had known" 246 Evolving Characterization of Fleur Pillager Gay Barton "That animal sinking in her bones" 251 The Unforgettable June Kashpaw Peter G. Beidler "A singular joy" 256 The Memorable Mindscape of Kit Tatro David T. McNab "Exactly like an old-time Pillager" 260 Lulu Nanapush Morrissey Lamartine Connie A. Jacobs "The Divine in Mary Kashpaw" 265 A Tribute to Moral Beauty Debra K. S. Barker "So very alive to me" 270 Omakayas in The Birchbark House and The Game ofS ilence Ute Lischke 15. "I Meant to Have But Modest Needs" 275 Lousie Erdrich's The Last Report on the Miracles at Little No Horse Dee Horne Index 293 FOREWORD One of the signs of a writer of true genius is the way her work filters its way into one's everyday consciousness. Last week not only did I teach two of Louise Erdrich's works, but I voted on a ballot from the prestigious Modem Language Association to honor her life's work. Certainly as an award winning author, she does not need to be honored by an association oflanguage and literature professors, but her position in American Literature is so well established that she cannot be ignored. Images and insights from her novels continue to reverberate in my mind as I see the beaded patterns of life and hear the old stories from the lips of those around me. There has been much .written about her work, though as Dr. Sawhney observes most of it has been on Love Medicine and Tracks, two fantastically rich novels. Clearly there is a great need to explore her other works. This collection of excellent essays redresses that neglect. I won't go over the contributions. Dr. Sawhney ably discusses them in his introduction, but let me say, it is especially welcomed to see scholarships that focus on The Last Report on the Miracles at Little No Horse, Four Souls, The Painted Dnlm, and The Birchbark House. The essays in this collection also pick up some newer theoretical approaches and apply them to Erdrich's works, approaches which enrich and broaden our understandings of literature in general. Moreover, they keep apace with Erdrich's growing and evolving position as a cultural mediator. Her work continues to explore that intersection between native experience and mainstream American experience with the hope of opening up more space for a Native worldview to flourish. As she pushes into new genres and new forms, Erdrich reminds us that great artists always push our understanding and appreciations. The essays in this collection help us keep up with her development.
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