Sovereign Stories: Aesthetics, Autonomy and Contemporary Native American Writing

Description

Sovereign Stories examines contemporary Native American writers’ engagement with various forms of cultural, political, and artistic sovereignty. The author considers literature’s ability to initiate vital discussions about tribal autonomy in modern America and suggests that innovative literary styles are a compelling articulation of the connection between aesthetic and political concerns. In so doing, he concentrates on fictional and poetic forms, the structure and imagery of which comment on indigenous autonomy, selfdetermination, and artistic activism. Offering original selective analysis of the fiction and poetry of Elizabeth Cook-Lynn, Sherman Alexie, David Treuer, LeAnne Howe, Louise Erdrich, Greg Sarris, and Craig Womack, this book explores these tribal authors’ concern with intellectual and creative sovereignty and deftly links those interests to the broader cultural and political issues faced by Native American communities today. Cover Contents Acknowledgments Chapter 1 Introduction Chapter 2 Who’s Afraid of Elizabeth Cook-Lynn? Nationalism and Voice in Aurelia Chapter 3 “Indigenous to the Land, an Immigrant to the Culture”: Sherman Alexie and the Third Space Chapter 4 “All the Talk and All the Silence”: Literary Aesthetics and Cultural Boundaries in David T Chapter 5 Portrait of the Artist: Authority, Autonomy, and Authorship in Louise Erdrich’s Shadow Ta Chapter 6 Choctalking: The Realities of Fiction in LeAnne Howe’s Shell Shaker Chapter 7 “Not a Chaotic Wake, Not an Empty Space”: The Future of Art, Life, and Criticism in the Bibliography Index