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The Classical Haida Mythtellers and Their World
A Story as Sharp as a Knife: The Classical Haida Mythtellers and Their World
Illustrated with photos.
Paperback
First published January 1, 1999
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About the author
Robert Bringhurst
70 books101 followersRobert Bringhurst is a Canadian poet, typographer and author. He is the author of The Elements of Typographic Style – a reference book of typefaces, glyphs and the visual and geometric arrangement of type. He has also translated works of epic poetry from Haida mythology into English.
He lives on Quadra Island, near Campbell River, British Columbia (approximately 170 km northwest of Vancouver).
He lives on Quadra Island, near Campbell River, British Columbia (approximately 170 km northwest of Vancouver).
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 32 reviews
December 6, 2018
In brief: A hundred years ago, an anthropologist collected months’ worth of Haida stories in their original language. Now, Bringhurst chooses several to translate and analyse from a Western literary perspective, while illustrating the era in which the stories were collected, and how they came to be recorded.
Thoughts: This is more valuable for the context it gives and the issues it points out with how indigenous stories were recorded and how they’re still treated, than for the translations and discussions of the stories themselves. Not that those aren’t important too, because Bringhurst rightly points out that these stories are oral literature, and poetry, but, like, he’s a white poet who taught himself Haida so… grain of salt. At least.
Anyway, tackling the poetry and stories on their own, first off. The translation reminds me a lot of Robert Fagles’ treatments of Homer, in that it’s very readable and accessible to people who don’t read poetry, but also not the truest to the source material. (Bringhurst provides some passages in the original and I have enough linguistics training to see there are phrases that don’t line up, plus, well, indigenous verbs and concepts of agency are very different from English ones and he barely tries to capture things, sometimes.) I did appreciate seeing the stories laid out in free verse and that Bringhurst keeps the cadences of speech. I did not so much appreciate his decision to translate names into English à la “Dances With Wolves” instead of relying on footnotes to do that work for him.
Bringhurst makes a convincing case that these stories should be treated as literature instead of, say, half-remembered myths or recitations, and that they should be given the importance they’re due as a result. There’s a lot of discussion of how the stories fit together into cycles, and the way the symbolism and structure supports the idea that the storytellers thought about the stories and crafted their telling, and a chapter or two comparing two versions of the same story to really highlight that each teller had his own voice and style. A few times I thought he went a bit far with his thesis, making assumptions or asides he couldn’t quite back up, for on the whole, I was on board.
Like I said, though, the most important thing about this book is the history in it and the discussion of early anthropology. Bringhurst not only delves into the mind of the anthropologist through his letters and presents him as a complex person who was trying to be respectful of the Haida though occasionally failing because of his upbringing, but he also discusses early anthropological efforts as both a compare-and-contrast sort of thing and to show how shoddy and racist thinking has resonated through the ages. The ideas that getting the original words doesn’t matter as long as you get the gist, and that mashing multiple versions into a One True Telling is appropriate, have been especially harmful. Suffice to say, after reading this, I’m more aware of the questions I should be asking and the issues I should be aware of, while reading collections of indigenous stories, and for that alone, reading this was worth it.
And Bringhurst doesn’t just call out anthropology and folklorists. He makes a point of showing how much was lost in the epidemics and how much we can’t even know was lost, and how Haida culture, for better or worse, prioritised female elders/storytellers so much that few of them made the written record, and how racism and bureaucracy left these records (and who knows what else) to languish in archives when they should be studied and repatriated. It’s as infuriating and depressing and important as his call-outs of anthropology and folklore.
So … yeah. It’s pretty woke in a lot of ways, though Bringhurst doesn’t quite live up to his goals either in terms of his translation or his response to criticism, which is … less holistic or respectful than it could be. (There’s a fair bit of “yes but” and “I talked to two Haida people and they said it was okay.” And by fair bit, I mean a foreword and appendix.) It’s definitely an important book to read if you’re interested in mythology, folklore, or indigenous cultures, but I don’t recommend it to anyone likely to take it all at face value and not thinking about wider contexts.
Warnings: This is a work of literary criticism addressing Indigenous culture, written by a middle-aged white man who is imperfect in his social justice and has a tendency to justify himself against accusations with academic versions of “whatever” and “some of my best friends are Haida.” Also, if you can’t handle tactful discussion of colonialism as applied to First Nations people (such as banning potlatches, Christian missionaries, epidemic death tolls, and apathy), perhaps this is not for you. Also also, this includes stories about Raven, who’s known for having non-consensual sex.
8/10
Thoughts: This is more valuable for the context it gives and the issues it points out with how indigenous stories were recorded and how they’re still treated, than for the translations and discussions of the stories themselves. Not that those aren’t important too, because Bringhurst rightly points out that these stories are oral literature, and poetry, but, like, he’s a white poet who taught himself Haida so… grain of salt. At least.
Anyway, tackling the poetry and stories on their own, first off. The translation reminds me a lot of Robert Fagles’ treatments of Homer, in that it’s very readable and accessible to people who don’t read poetry, but also not the truest to the source material. (Bringhurst provides some passages in the original and I have enough linguistics training to see there are phrases that don’t line up, plus, well, indigenous verbs and concepts of agency are very different from English ones and he barely tries to capture things, sometimes.) I did appreciate seeing the stories laid out in free verse and that Bringhurst keeps the cadences of speech. I did not so much appreciate his decision to translate names into English à la “Dances With Wolves” instead of relying on footnotes to do that work for him.
Bringhurst makes a convincing case that these stories should be treated as literature instead of, say, half-remembered myths or recitations, and that they should be given the importance they’re due as a result. There’s a lot of discussion of how the stories fit together into cycles, and the way the symbolism and structure supports the idea that the storytellers thought about the stories and crafted their telling, and a chapter or two comparing two versions of the same story to really highlight that each teller had his own voice and style. A few times I thought he went a bit far with his thesis, making assumptions or asides he couldn’t quite back up, for on the whole, I was on board.
Like I said, though, the most important thing about this book is the history in it and the discussion of early anthropology. Bringhurst not only delves into the mind of the anthropologist through his letters and presents him as a complex person who was trying to be respectful of the Haida though occasionally failing because of his upbringing, but he also discusses early anthropological efforts as both a compare-and-contrast sort of thing and to show how shoddy and racist thinking has resonated through the ages. The ideas that getting the original words doesn’t matter as long as you get the gist, and that mashing multiple versions into a One True Telling is appropriate, have been especially harmful. Suffice to say, after reading this, I’m more aware of the questions I should be asking and the issues I should be aware of, while reading collections of indigenous stories, and for that alone, reading this was worth it.
And Bringhurst doesn’t just call out anthropology and folklorists. He makes a point of showing how much was lost in the epidemics and how much we can’t even know was lost, and how Haida culture, for better or worse, prioritised female elders/storytellers so much that few of them made the written record, and how racism and bureaucracy left these records (and who knows what else) to languish in archives when they should be studied and repatriated. It’s as infuriating and depressing and important as his call-outs of anthropology and folklore.
So … yeah. It’s pretty woke in a lot of ways, though Bringhurst doesn’t quite live up to his goals either in terms of his translation or his response to criticism, which is … less holistic or respectful than it could be. (There’s a fair bit of “yes but” and “I talked to two Haida people and they said it was okay.” And by fair bit, I mean a foreword and appendix.) It’s definitely an important book to read if you’re interested in mythology, folklore, or indigenous cultures, but I don’t recommend it to anyone likely to take it all at face value and not thinking about wider contexts.
Warnings: This is a work of literary criticism addressing Indigenous culture, written by a middle-aged white man who is imperfect in his social justice and has a tendency to justify himself against accusations with academic versions of “whatever” and “some of my best friends are Haida.” Also, if you can’t handle tactful discussion of colonialism as applied to First Nations people (such as banning potlatches, Christian missionaries, epidemic death tolls, and apathy), perhaps this is not for you. Also also, this includes stories about Raven, who’s known for having non-consensual sex.
8/10
February 4, 2017
Brilliant dissertation on Haida oral myth/story telling tradition. Bringhurst's deep research into the available material assembled by John Swanton in the late 19th and early 20th century brings to life the artistry of the last of the great Haida myth tellers, Ghandl and Skaay, and the almost forgotten stories of their culture. Bringhurst rightfully and convincingly demonstrates that they rightfully belong up there with the literary and artistic greats of history. I particularly liked how Bringhurst compares not just Haida mythological tradition but also that of First Nations across North America with the great oral myth/story telling traditions from around the world and down through history. Will read again.
March 15, 2014
Bringhurst has expended enormous care in creating this marvelous collection of translations of myths and legends from the Haida people, many of which were carefully transcribed a century ago by folklorists and ethnographers working in the Pacific Northwest. Other accounts of comparable material that I've read pale in comparison to his precise and sparkling renditions.
Of considerably less value to me was the meandering miscellany of observations that constituted the voluminous running commentary tying these tales together. Valuable historical, biographical and interpretive material is sometimes lost in a sea of semi-random comparative speculations that I found too personal, and of mediocre quality. Some of his digressions were vexing, such as Bringhurst's indefensibly hostile account of Franz Boas, whose contributions to the study of the region are incalculable, and who wrote with an animated and humanistic love of peoples that remains unusual and inspiring to this day.
My method, then, is to skim the copious and somewhat-self-indulgent commentary and move on to the thrilling and superbly-rendered translations which communicate the magnificent insight and artistry of the Haida oral tradition. The spiritual and human values of the stories are conveyed much more effectively in these treatments than you get in the typical synopsis, which often focuses on concerns of social economy.
The skill and power of the translations easily suffice to make this a study of First Nations peoples of the first rank.
Of considerably less value to me was the meandering miscellany of observations that constituted the voluminous running commentary tying these tales together. Valuable historical, biographical and interpretive material is sometimes lost in a sea of semi-random comparative speculations that I found too personal, and of mediocre quality. Some of his digressions were vexing, such as Bringhurst's indefensibly hostile account of Franz Boas, whose contributions to the study of the region are incalculable, and who wrote with an animated and humanistic love of peoples that remains unusual and inspiring to this day.
My method, then, is to skim the copious and somewhat-self-indulgent commentary and move on to the thrilling and superbly-rendered translations which communicate the magnificent insight and artistry of the Haida oral tradition. The spiritual and human values of the stories are conveyed much more effectively in these treatments than you get in the typical synopsis, which often focuses on concerns of social economy.
The skill and power of the translations easily suffice to make this a study of First Nations peoples of the first rank.
February 5, 2019
Okay, the 4 stars are basically for the opportunity to read the absolutely fascinating translations of large portions of Haida myth, particularly a couple different versions of Raven stories, that Bringhurst presents here. This is a world so unlike many Western myth cycles that we are used to - one in which the spirit world is a vital part of the everyday, and the boudaries between spirit beings and those of flesh and blood is nigh on non-existent. These tales bristle with life and humor, a far cry from the lofty and serious pantheons that often inhabit much of Western mythology. Full disclosure, Bringhurst is a white male, chronicling and commenting upon anthropological work left to us by other white males. The book's slowest section details the process by which many of these stories were first collected by early anthropologists as well as discussing some of the growing pains of anthropology as a field and practice. While this was certainly interesting, it mostly leaves one feeling incredibly frustrated by the bigoted views of many of these researchers and the precious things that they deemed unimportant or unworthy of record. We have, for example, very few records of any of the great female Haida storytellers, though there are many and they are highly honored in the culture. Also, Bringhurst mentions the vital part that music and song plays in much of this literature, but we have no record of what any of this might have sounded like, as none of the researchers were trained enough in music to make any attempt at notating this. The question of appropriation and ownership of this material comes up frequently in Bringhurst's book, but I am not certain that he really engages with it to its fullest extent. He makes much of his relationship with Haida artist and writer Bill Reid, as if this relationship gives him license to write about whatever he chooses. That being said, I do think Bringhurst's contribution is valuable, if for no other reason than to make a small portion of this spectacular mythos accessible to a wider audience. As for his approach, which views the story cycles as high literature through a Western lens, it has its positives and its problems. I don't know that sections of "Raven Travelling" necessarily need to be elevated by comparisons to a Bach fugue, for example. While this may be an interesting way of thinking about it, the works can clearly stand on their own merit and it ends up feeling like trying to better understand a stained glass window by looking at a painting. All of this aside, reading the large sections of these myths and story cycles provided in this text is an absolute joy. It feels very much like stumbling upon a completely other world that makes one feel humbled at how little one really knows about anything. The fact that we picked this book up at the fantastic Museum of Anthropology in Vancouver, where several of the remains of posts pictured in the book now reside added an extra level of appreciation for the deep loss experienced by the colonization of this area of the world but also the rich culture that continues to flourish today.
October 21, 2017
I've tried to write a review of this several times now but always gave up in frustration.
The myths themselves, the story of the ethnologist who first transcribed them from oral recitations and the information provided on the sad history of the Haida in the 19th century is all first rate. The myths themselves are magnificent. Like nothing I've read before. This doesn't only have to do with where they come from but, perhaps, when they come from. Bringhurst provides no thoughts on just how old these myths may be, which is a major flaw with this text, but they strike me, due to the immersion of man in a very lush, deep natural world as much older than the bronze age myths most of us are used to. From that perspective, this book may be a door into another world. One that I can't stop going back to. I've read the myths themselves countless times over the last couple of years and they are still are fresh and vital as when I first discovered them.
The problem with the volume is Bringhurst's meandering, pretentious scaffolding. Which, for the most part, does nothing to bring the texts into sharper focus. There is little to no attempt to provide the sort of essential information necessary to probe beneath the surface of the stories. He spends (actually I think he wastes) lots of time trying to find models of expressive organization within the Western artistic tradition to assist the reader make sense of them. Firstly, they make perfect sense and are rather hypnotic on their own. Secondly, the models he chooses, based primarily on Baroque and Classical music strike me as an excuse for him to show off his learning. Which isn't particularly accurate when it comes to sonata or suite form in the first place.
So, by all means, get ahold of this text for the myths and the story of the Haida. You can safely ignore at least a third of it and probably come away from the experience all the more impressed.
This is the first of a three-volume series. It's the one, supposedly, that provides you with the necessary tools to encounter the further two volumes which are chiefly translation. What a shame Bringhurst can't be bothered to offer cultural detail and instead seems to be intent on self-preening.
The myths themselves, the story of the ethnologist who first transcribed them from oral recitations and the information provided on the sad history of the Haida in the 19th century is all first rate. The myths themselves are magnificent. Like nothing I've read before. This doesn't only have to do with where they come from but, perhaps, when they come from. Bringhurst provides no thoughts on just how old these myths may be, which is a major flaw with this text, but they strike me, due to the immersion of man in a very lush, deep natural world as much older than the bronze age myths most of us are used to. From that perspective, this book may be a door into another world. One that I can't stop going back to. I've read the myths themselves countless times over the last couple of years and they are still are fresh and vital as when I first discovered them.
The problem with the volume is Bringhurst's meandering, pretentious scaffolding. Which, for the most part, does nothing to bring the texts into sharper focus. There is little to no attempt to provide the sort of essential information necessary to probe beneath the surface of the stories. He spends (actually I think he wastes) lots of time trying to find models of expressive organization within the Western artistic tradition to assist the reader make sense of them. Firstly, they make perfect sense and are rather hypnotic on their own. Secondly, the models he chooses, based primarily on Baroque and Classical music strike me as an excuse for him to show off his learning. Which isn't particularly accurate when it comes to sonata or suite form in the first place.
So, by all means, get ahold of this text for the myths and the story of the Haida. You can safely ignore at least a third of it and probably come away from the experience all the more impressed.
This is the first of a three-volume series. It's the one, supposedly, that provides you with the necessary tools to encounter the further two volumes which are chiefly translation. What a shame Bringhurst can't be bothered to offer cultural detail and instead seems to be intent on self-preening.
May 14, 2012
Bringhurst wrote one of my bibles, Elements of Typographic Style (anyone who works with type needs to own and study this book diligently), but the man is an awe inspiring multi disciplinary wizard. Besides being a published poet with numerous works to his name, he is a noted and gifted book designer, studied architecture, linguistics, and physics at MIT, and comparative literature and philosophy at the University of Utah, has a BA from Indiana University and an MFA in creative writing from UBC. His list of accolades is lengthy. In addition to all that, he taught himself to read, write and speak Haida. He claims (and I don’t think it’s hyperbole) that the Haida myths rank among the great literature of the world.
September 12, 2010
A Story As Sharp As A Knife was a sweeping, epic work of history that explored how a small group of anthropologists, historians and academics wrote down a large number of Haida myths and translated many of them into English at the beginning of the twentieth century. Robert Bringhurst did a marvelous at describing the personalities, ideas and times of these men and their Haida counterparts. Bringhurst also succeeded at using a entertaining writing style to make large amounts of complicated information readable and accessible.
November 8, 2024
My approach to the stories and mythologies of cultures and time periods which I find to explore is quite simple. It consists, mainly, of finding a decent English translation (there is often only one) and reading it on its own terms as much as is possible. Footnotes providing context for more situationally specific terms can be helpful, and a translator’s note, forward, or introduction can be helpful for framing the text. Zolbrod’s translation of the Navajo
Dine Bahane
is an ideal example of what I look for, and it’s what I thought I would be getting with Bringhurst’s translation of Haida myths in A Story as Sharp as a Knife. Instead, I think the book spends more time on Bringhurst’s analysis, philosophizing, and linguistic and cultural musings than it does actually presenting Haida stories.
This did not make for uninteresting reading, although Bringhurst does at times drift into polemics; however, it did rather undermine my attempt to actually acquire my own understanding of Haida stories and thought. A Story as Sharp as a Knife is closer to Landscape and Memory than it is to Dine Bahane. Despite Bringhurst repeatedly bragging of the fine work Swanton did at the turn of the twentieth century in recording faithfully some 800 pages of Haida myths, including complete epics, he only provides the reader with snippets framed by the paraphrases he must laments from other translators, and analysis or contemporary history of the transcription processing running many times the excerpts’ lengths.
At least his digressions are interesting (for the most part), and they prompted me to think more deeply about the nature of myth and storytelling, and to ponder again the complexities of translation and language, especially with regards to oral literature. I do not agree with all, perhaps even many, of his conclusions, but that is rather beside the point, which is engagement with the ideas. Disagreement in this case does not arise from any lack of thorough and critical thinking by the author. The problem is that the book does not present any single Haida story in full enough form, without interruption, for the reader to properly appreciate or understand it on its own merits, which is frustrating in itself, and more so for that being my main goal in continuing to seek these sorts of works. That frustration is exacerbated when the barrier to engaging with the stories comes in the guise of the author – for Bringhurst is serving more as author here than he is as translator – not trusting the reader to understand the myth without assistance.
Although he clearly has knowledge of ancient literature from other regions, Bringhurst insists on maintaining that the oral tradition of the Haida and other American peoples is somehow not analogous to mythical traditions, oral or otherwise, in other parts of the world, which does not align with my impressions from the fragments presented in A Story as Sharp as a Knife and my own reading of other cultures’ stories. War stories and slaves in ancient Haida (and more recent Haida) history are mentioned, but tucked aside in the analyses, suggesting Bringhurst seeks to maintain a certain rose-tinted perspective on the Haida and related peoples, rather than engaging critically with difficult and complex topics. This is just instance of a persistent effort to frame the entire book in terms fundamentally modern, where I’m seeking to engage with the Haida with as little frame as possible.
Therein lies my difficulty in rating and recommending this book. Had I been seeking a Landscape and Memory-like treatment of Haida storytelling, A Story as Sharp as a Knife would be an easy 4 or 4.5 stars, with a hearty recommendation. As a philosophy/art criticism book, it is thought-provoking, eloquent, and thorough. As a translation of Haida stories and mythology, it falls woefully short. Such translations as it does include are of high quality, and I would gladly read more, but they are so broken up and truncated that the larger effect is entirely lost. Bringhurst’s analysis efforts stretch over two more books. While I would gladly read ore of his translations of Haida myths and stories, I do not know that I wish to wade through two more books full of fragmentary flashes of my real goal. Instead, I will pick up (at some point), his actual translations.
June 4, 2021
If you want an incredibly in-depth look at oral history, oral storytelling, anthropology in the American North-West, Haida history, famous Haida mythtellers, and also some Haida myths then this is absolutely the book for you. A Story as Sharp as a Knife is massive, but it needs that pagecount to adequately cover every topic it's trying to address. If you want a simple translation of some of the myths, then this isn't the book for you. If you want a deep understanding of the culture and it's poets, this is practically a textbook on the topic. The Haida are a culture, not an interesting collection of myths, and you'll be much better informed if you read Bringhurst's work. If you have the patience for such a large book, it's incredibly interesting.
July 19, 2017
One of the most engrossing academic texts I have had the pleasure of reading, and that manages to do justice in its description, appreciation and study of the great oral Haida literary tradition. I hope just like Bringhurst that some day soon (yesterday is not soon enough) more schools will study the great epics of Raven Travelling and The One They Hand Along alongside well known counterparts like the Oddessy or the Mahabharata. My only regret was that this first book out of three did not have more content in myth alongside all of the eloquent and passionate commentary.
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March 15, 2024I read this book when it first came out in 1999. It was recommended to me by a fellow writer. I read it in the context of not having been to Haida Gwaii. As a result, I realized there was a very interesting culture in those islands. I decided to read it again in 2024 after having made a couple of trips to Haida Gwaii and getting immersed in the culture there, and listening to some of the stories, and yes myths, told by Haida Watchmen, guardians of the ancient villages. The new context provided me with a totally different perspective on Bringhurst's analysis.
June 6, 2017
What an excellent book! I got caught up immediately in the stories and poems (yes, poems), and the Swan Maiden makes her appearance again. The Haida were sophisticated oral traditionalists and their stories were only written down by one linguist.
October 13, 2021
this book made me rethink what poetry is. the meaning of meaning and the transition from oral to written culture. haida culture is quite beautiful and its literature is like the title of this book.
September 17, 2013
What I really love about this book is that the author brings history, sociology, linguistics, and literary analysis to bear on the Haida mythic literature so that there is enough context for us to understand it. In doing so, the author also shows us how we should think about myths, literature, and different cultures more generally.
The stories Robert Bringhurst covers were originally collected in their original language and translated by John Swanton a hundred years ago. Swanton's technique was rather unique at the time, because most of Swanton's contemporaries collected Native American stories only in English and tried to extrapolate a generalized story from the culture rather than preserve the individuality of each contributor's work.
Bringhurst describes the process by which Swanton did this, describes the mythtellers Swanton talked to, and analyzes the mythtellers works, pointing out aspects of the stories that are unique to their speakers and general to the culture. Bringhurst spends some time describing the Haida culture generally, its relationship to other nations along the West Coast, and how they were affected by Western culture, religion, and (tragically) diseases.
The stories Robert Bringhurst covers were originally collected in their original language and translated by John Swanton a hundred years ago. Swanton's technique was rather unique at the time, because most of Swanton's contemporaries collected Native American stories only in English and tried to extrapolate a generalized story from the culture rather than preserve the individuality of each contributor's work.
Bringhurst describes the process by which Swanton did this, describes the mythtellers Swanton talked to, and analyzes the mythtellers works, pointing out aspects of the stories that are unique to their speakers and general to the culture. Bringhurst spends some time describing the Haida culture generally, its relationship to other nations along the West Coast, and how they were affected by Western culture, religion, and (tragically) diseases.
December 19, 2007
This book is mostly a series of epic oral poetry from a few of the remaining members of the Haida tribe - a native North American tribe living in the modern-day Queen Victoria islands off the coast of Alaska. Robert Bringhurst partly narrates as an ethnographic historian - noting the difficulties and triumphs of the wide eyed 19th and 20th century transcriber John Swanton in his obsession with getting down the massive series of poems the breadth and depth of which he likened to the Odyssey, Iliad, or the Bahagavad-Gita. Bringhurst translates the difficult Haida language with the precision of a sharp eared linguist and infuses his western poetic soul into the poetry. The myths are subtle and range from creation stories to family histories to classic trickster myths. They are difficult to read at first, probably as they were never intended to be written, but as with any great work of art they teach the reader how to read them. Beautiful and important. Changed my life and my outlook on literature and art.
March 3, 2023
Amazingly deep dive into the Haida mythtellers and the structure (linguistic and formulaic) of their narrative poetry as it compares to other oral poetry throughout history as well as comparisons with visual art and music. There is also contextual history as well as photographs and feels like the intersection of a comparative lit and anthropology class. It is also somehow a pretty accessible read. I brought it to read on my vacation to Bella Coola (although that is not Haida territory). I can not give it less than 5 stars because it is a masterpiece, and it is important to the author and the narrative for it to be as comprehensive as possible, but at times I felt like I personally was going to greater depths than i was interested in. But in any case I learned a lot.
November 5, 2009
Read it aloud with friends like story tellers. These words are meant for hearing, not for reading!
Read it through and it meant nothing. Lots of linguist stuff that meant nothing. Skipped some of it to be honest, this is a big book.
Re-read about 100+ pages. Damn this stuff is cool! It took some time to get, but wow. Awesome.
The world is as sharp as a knife...it's going to cut us up and fuck us up no matter what, so we don't need to do any extra cutting. Be cheerful and generous instead.
Read it through and it meant nothing. Lots of linguist stuff that meant nothing. Skipped some of it to be honest, this is a big book.
Re-read about 100+ pages. Damn this stuff is cool! It took some time to get, but wow. Awesome.
The world is as sharp as a knife...it's going to cut us up and fuck us up no matter what, so we don't need to do any extra cutting. Be cheerful and generous instead.
September 8, 2011
A study of the efforts of ethnologist John Swanton to record the stories of the Haida people of British Columbia and Southeast Alaska. While the body of the book focuses primarily on the content of stories themselves (with untranslated and translated samples), there is a substantial description of Swanton's methods, concerns, and interactions with the Haida. The introductory materials and appendices provide a wealth of interesting information regarding the linguistic characteristics of the Haida language and its representation in print.
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November 11, 2016I interviewed the author of this book here: http://blog.pshares.org/index.php/cul...
Really fascinating book that's part translation, part anthropology, part critical inquiry, part historical context... I don't have enough knowledge on the stuff surrounding this book to have a complete sense of it, but the voice was really great for an academic-style tome, even if it did swerve into the "here's why this is so important" deal a bit.
Really fascinating book that's part translation, part anthropology, part critical inquiry, part historical context... I don't have enough knowledge on the stuff surrounding this book to have a complete sense of it, but the voice was really great for an academic-style tome, even if it did swerve into the "here's why this is so important" deal a bit.
October 17, 2013
A book containing fragments of epics and the epic task of teaching white people to hear. Heavy going at times, but worth it for those brilliantly illuminating scraps of commentary and context which cause the Haida myths to stir and shake off the photographed dullness of their imprisonment in the static text of the Roman alphabet.
November 24, 2015
A masterful synthesis of both researched scholarship and a reflection of past scholars themselves. But all with the focus on the original folklorists themselves. Due to my lack of knowledge in various Haida nuances (some of which could have been more elaborated upon) my enjoyment of the stories was uneven, but still it is a great collection.
November 22, 2012
Huge, rich, deep, broad, and baffling. I'm will have to read this another 3 times before I get what it's really about. But happy to have read it the first time. Bringhurst is one of a kind, an enormous treasure.
March 25, 2014
Wow. Incredible, enlightening, poignant, evocative, intense scholarship and dedication. A testament to one man's humility and discipline and another's (the author's) erudite understanding, perception and respect for the subject(s) both academic and personal. Beautiful.
July 3, 2013
I'm not sure I fully understood all of what Bringhurst was trying to communicate, and I *definitely* didn't understand all of what the original poets were trying to communicate, but I still feel like reading this was really enriching. Look forward to returning to it.
January 28, 2015
This brilliant compilation of tales of Native Americans of the Northwest, including the Makah, is more academic than I expected. However, the tales, stripped of the academic appraisal, are lovely and worth reading on their own.
January 8, 2011
Good introduction to the classical Haida literature. Excellent translations, following Bringhurst's insights and sensitivities.
Currently reading
April 22, 2009so far, incredible. I have to wonder about the 'methodology' sometimes, but whatever he does, Bringhurst is magic. Also my favourite Canadian poet.
May 8, 2013
Didn't finish though I liked it. Passed it on to Tim.
January 12, 2017
Highly recommended, truly excellent.
January 4, 2025
Textbook but pretty and good
Displaying 1 - 30 of 32 reviews