Product Description

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #318229 in Books
• Published on: 1998-07-15
• Original language: English
• Dimensions: .51" h x 6.17" w x 9.23" l, .66 pounds
• Binding: Paperback
• 224 pages

From Amazon.com
The winner of the 1969 Pulitzer Prize for fiction for his novel, House Made of Dawn, N. Scott Momaday is renowned as an influential Native American writer. In this collection of essays he turns his attention to the differences between oral and written cultures; to places he has visited and lived; and to the weighty issues of government Indian policies and the enduring damage they continue to inflict. He writes movingly of his Kiowa forebears, and he teaches us great lessons about mankind and its relationship to nature. Momaday is a deeply thoughtful observer and a graceful writer, and the essays in The Man Made of Words are both provocative and elegant.

From Library Journal
The son of a Kiowa father and a mother who knew only English, Momaday, winner of the Pulitzer Prize in 1968 for his novel House Made of Dawn, was surrounded by the sounds of two languages. In this volume, Momaday collects stories and essays written over the past 30 years that focus on language, the land, and the relationship between Native Americans and whites. In stories about his travels, Momaday describes some of the places he has visited?Russia, Bavaria, Granada?with great beauty. In the stories about people and animals, his subjects come alive on the page. Memorable portraits include one of Jay Silverheels (Tonto in the Lone Ranger television series) and an endearing dog, Cacique del Monte Chamiza (the author's black Labrador retriever). This volume is a good addition to, but not a substitute for, the author's poetry and fiction. Highly recommended for public and academic libraries.?Caroline A. Mitchell, Washington, D.C.
Copyright 1997 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist
Early as well as recent work appears in this collection of essays by the eminent Native American writer. Together they reveal how consistent Momaday's stately, oratorical voice has been during his 30-year career. Consistent, too, has been his concern for humanity's place in the natural world and for the spiritual messages Native American traditions offer an alienated society. Momaday's reminiscences of tribal elders, his lively way with a traditional story, his wonder at natural beauty--these are not mere embellishments on the political analysis that he weaves into the essays; rather, they are vital components of Momaday's complex way with words. The reasons for that complexity are suggested by the Kiowa story referred to by the book's title. It is about an arrow maker who, aware of a prowler outside his home, uses words to engage as well as distract the intruder, for possibly the presumed enemy is really a lost friend. Momaday clearly identifies with that legendary hero, and he points his words toward our fully understanding hearts. Patricia Monaghan