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Tales of the Reluctant Shaman #1
Memoir of a Reluctant Shaman
"My grandmother's song would make her wooden dolls dance without strings, something I have sought to do in my own relationships without much success. Perhaps my song is not strong enough, or perhaps I would be better off with stiffer relationships than the blood and bone-based lovers I've chosen--or that have chosen me.
Living in cities that are so bright they blot out the stars at night, my lovers have had skin washed pale as fish bellies back home, and I have never quite figured out how to explain to them what happens on our reservation, where stars look new and are strong enough to burn our bodies brown. How do I explain to my vegetarian significant other that he can buy a t-shirt in the tribal store that reads, "Vegetarian is an Indian word for poor hunter." How do those for whom meat is something wrapped in plastic you use plastic to buy, make sense of my siblings hacking meat off a still-warm carcass? Do they really understand that the smooth hardness of the drums of mine they touch and admire is the flesh of the animal scraped clean?"
Thus begins a Young Adult story of Native American Magical Realism interwoven with traditional American Indian Legends. The first chapter was a finalist in National Public Radio's Short Fiction Contest under "Dolls" by Ty Nolan. Now discover the full story of a most remarkable family.
Living in cities that are so bright they blot out the stars at night, my lovers have had skin washed pale as fish bellies back home, and I have never quite figured out how to explain to them what happens on our reservation, where stars look new and are strong enough to burn our bodies brown. How do I explain to my vegetarian significant other that he can buy a t-shirt in the tribal store that reads, "Vegetarian is an Indian word for poor hunter." How do those for whom meat is something wrapped in plastic you use plastic to buy, make sense of my siblings hacking meat off a still-warm carcass? Do they really understand that the smooth hardness of the drums of mine they touch and admire is the flesh of the animal scraped clean?"
Thus begins a Young Adult story of Native American Magical Realism interwoven with traditional American Indian Legends. The first chapter was a finalist in National Public Radio's Short Fiction Contest under "Dolls" by Ty Nolan. Now discover the full story of a most remarkable family.
178 pages, Kindle Edition
First published November 30, 2013
3 people are currently reading
49 people want to read
About the author
Ty Nolan
10 books5 followersMy mom was one of the very first Head Start teachers on the reservation, and she always worked with three year olds.
I would visit her in the classroom, and without warning, she'd walk out, leaving me with 15 preschoolers. Out of desperation, I would tell them a legend and teach them the song and dance that went with it.
It wasn't until much later I realized my mom was forcing me to use the Stories I had been taught.
Most recently I've worked with the National Science Foundation's Flagship Project, Synergy. I was asked to teach STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math)professors at over a dozen colleges how to use Storytelling to more effectively communicate complex concepts about technology to a general audience.
I currently live in Arizona, where our local college (South Mountain Community College) has one of the only Storytelling Institutes in the United States, where one can be certified as a storyteller.
My series--Coyote Cooks, has recipes included, but it's really more about ideas than how much flour to add to the fry bread.
I would visit her in the classroom, and without warning, she'd walk out, leaving me with 15 preschoolers. Out of desperation, I would tell them a legend and teach them the song and dance that went with it.
It wasn't until much later I realized my mom was forcing me to use the Stories I had been taught.
Most recently I've worked with the National Science Foundation's Flagship Project, Synergy. I was asked to teach STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math)professors at over a dozen colleges how to use Storytelling to more effectively communicate complex concepts about technology to a general audience.
I currently live in Arizona, where our local college (South Mountain Community College) has one of the only Storytelling Institutes in the United States, where one can be certified as a storyteller.
My series--Coyote Cooks, has recipes included, but it's really more about ideas than how much flour to add to the fry bread.
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
April 18, 2014
When his love spell goes wrong, our hero is exiled to be fully initiated as a Shaman in this spicy tale of New Orleans Voodoo and Native American magic. this is a little different than expected in the middle of a set i was asked to read and was a little thrown when i realized after reading this line
"When the Axe came to the woods, the trees said, 'Look, the handle is one of us.'" and the shaman was leading a young man to his place this is a typical love story this is told from the persecutive of a gay man with a little sass in it i particularly like this section when he enters a gay bar and a patron yells Pocahontas!” A shirtless and sweaty muscular African-American called to me. He started walking in my direction. He smelled of salt and make-up.“Poke-a-hot-ass is more like it,” laughed a round bellied White man who turned from the bar to see what was happening.
but as he tells the native stories along the way i became more interested this is not something i would have picked up to read on my own if it had not been in a set there are alot of native stories in this book i quite enjoyed reading and when he gets sent to his uncles and the pig talks to him i almost fell out of my chair laughing this is were the true fun begins as to learn to be a better man let alone a shaman he relives stories to defeat coyote the coyote stories i read when a kid are in here and then there are the ones that are not meant for kids but oh so good this is defiantly Worth the read even if you are not gay its about time the old stories were retold I'm not full native nut my grandmother was very traditional and knew there was always something to learn from a story as well as life
"When the Axe came to the woods, the trees said, 'Look, the handle is one of us.'" and the shaman was leading a young man to his place this is a typical love story this is told from the persecutive of a gay man with a little sass in it i particularly like this section when he enters a gay bar and a patron yells Pocahontas!” A shirtless and sweaty muscular African-American called to me. He started walking in my direction. He smelled of salt and make-up.“Poke-a-hot-ass is more like it,” laughed a round bellied White man who turned from the bar to see what was happening.
but as he tells the native stories along the way i became more interested this is not something i would have picked up to read on my own if it had not been in a set there are alot of native stories in this book i quite enjoyed reading and when he gets sent to his uncles and the pig talks to him i almost fell out of my chair laughing this is were the true fun begins as to learn to be a better man let alone a shaman he relives stories to defeat coyote the coyote stories i read when a kid are in here and then there are the ones that are not meant for kids but oh so good this is defiantly Worth the read even if you are not gay its about time the old stories were retold I'm not full native nut my grandmother was very traditional and knew there was always something to learn from a story as well as life
February 13, 2014
Ty Nolan gets up close and personal in this coming of age memoir about his life, possibly a little too personal for some. He doesn't pull any punches about being a gay man. The narrative is about the spiritual truths he experienced as a young man. Frankly, I found it to be an amazing history. Yes, I am hesitant to call this a story even though many will relate to it as such.
This is Mr. Nolan's own personal experience he is sharing with us for our own enlightenment, he is sowing seeds. He has also woven certain Native legends with these experiences and expanded into other spiritualism’s as well. We are also given insight into life on a reservation as well as his family's life. I thought it was humorous and creative that Mr. Nolan referred to his brothers and sisters by their astrological signs instead of their names. I found it all fascinating and had trouble putting the book down to sleep. I also enjoyed the author's sense of humor that is injected into the narrative as asides occasionally. It served to relieve tension and made it more personal.
This author has expanded the realm of possibilities in his books and I look forward to reading more from Ty Nolan. He is obviously an intelligent man with a lot of wisdom to share and a skilled Storyteller.
FYI: Certain subject manner may be offensive to some.
Format/Typo Issues: I noticed a small number of proofing errors.
**Originally written for "Books and Pals" book blog. May have received a free review copy.** February 5, 2014
This is Mr. Nolan's own personal experience he is sharing with us for our own enlightenment, he is sowing seeds. He has also woven certain Native legends with these experiences and expanded into other spiritualism’s as well. We are also given insight into life on a reservation as well as his family's life. I thought it was humorous and creative that Mr. Nolan referred to his brothers and sisters by their astrological signs instead of their names. I found it all fascinating and had trouble putting the book down to sleep. I also enjoyed the author's sense of humor that is injected into the narrative as asides occasionally. It served to relieve tension and made it more personal.
This author has expanded the realm of possibilities in his books and I look forward to reading more from Ty Nolan. He is obviously an intelligent man with a lot of wisdom to share and a skilled Storyteller.
FYI: Certain subject manner may be offensive to some.
Format/Typo Issues: I noticed a small number of proofing errors.
**Originally written for "Books and Pals" book blog. May have received a free review copy.** February 5, 2014
April 13, 2014
I was torn between a 3 star rating and the 4 I eventually came up with. 3 stars for the typos, of which there are many. Sentences that have either a word added or deleted made for some interesting moments of figuring it out. And the word floater kept popping up as fLoater.
But, there are some very, very funny moments and some quirky sayings that were right up my alley. Like "Here's to alcohol! What great Story ever started with a salad?" The Native American stories mingled in with modern conveniences, and yet still told almost as if by an Elder kept it refreshing. It went from the sublime to the ridiculous and then to the surreal and the imagery kept me anxiously pushing on to find out 'what next?', while chuckling and/or going 'ewwww'. Definitely a differently told story and I did find myself enjoying it in spite of my typo grievances.
But, there are some very, very funny moments and some quirky sayings that were right up my alley. Like "Here's to alcohol! What great Story ever started with a salad?" The Native American stories mingled in with modern conveniences, and yet still told almost as if by an Elder kept it refreshing. It went from the sublime to the ridiculous and then to the surreal and the imagery kept me anxiously pushing on to find out 'what next?', while chuckling and/or going 'ewwww'. Definitely a differently told story and I did find myself enjoying it in spite of my typo grievances.
March 20, 2015
Good and bad
Nolan is an excellent writer and storyteller. His life and personal point of view add to the Native American tales. That said, the title is very misleading as this isn't much of a memoir. If you are looking for a life story you will be disappointed.
Nolan is an excellent writer and storyteller. His life and personal point of view add to the Native American tales. That said, the title is very misleading as this isn't much of a memoir. If you are looking for a life story you will be disappointed.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews