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Plums or Nuts: Ojibwe Stories of Anishinaabe Humor
A master Ojibwe storyteller shares twenty-five stories—often bawdy, full of mischief and misbehavior—in Ojibwe and English.
Larry Amik Smallwood had the gift of making people laugh. Of all the teachings Amik strove to pass along to his students, he cherished most the humor of his Ojibwe people.
In this bilingual collection, Amik tells of his many adventures and those of others he knew. Learning to speak English in the first grade. A spectacular mishap while harvesting wild rice. Using an old blanket as an invitation to dance. Tales of his hilarious drunkard uncle. With all this and more, Amik celebrates the history, traditions, and culture of modern Ojibwe people.
This book also provides plentiful Ojibwe-language idioms, plays on words, and puns, showing that it really is funnier in Ojibwe. Michael Sullivan Sr., Amik’s language student and assistant, introduces the stories and presents them in Ojibwe and English with an Ojibwe-to-English glossary. Plums or Nuts will excite language enthusiasts throughout North America and bring smiles to those who remember this remarkable man—and to those who are having the pleasure of meeting him and his stories for the first time.
Larry Amik Smallwood had the gift of making people laugh. Of all the teachings Amik strove to pass along to his students, he cherished most the humor of his Ojibwe people.
In this bilingual collection, Amik tells of his many adventures and those of others he knew. Learning to speak English in the first grade. A spectacular mishap while harvesting wild rice. Using an old blanket as an invitation to dance. Tales of his hilarious drunkard uncle. With all this and more, Amik celebrates the history, traditions, and culture of modern Ojibwe people.
This book also provides plentiful Ojibwe-language idioms, plays on words, and puns, showing that it really is funnier in Ojibwe. Michael Sullivan Sr., Amik’s language student and assistant, introduces the stories and presents them in Ojibwe and English with an Ojibwe-to-English glossary. Plums or Nuts will excite language enthusiasts throughout North America and bring smiles to those who remember this remarkable man—and to those who are having the pleasure of meeting him and his stories for the first time.
168 pages, Paperback
First published September 5, 2023
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
December 29, 2024
I'm a bit familiar with the Ojibwe through reading some of David Treuer's books like Rez Life, so I was happy to see a book like this. It's a bilingual collection of personal and humorous stories in Ojibwe and English, told by Larry Amik Smallwood and translated/edited by Michael Migizi Sullivan Sr. The preface is in English, and it also includes a glossary. While I read the English pages, it's definitely going to be useful for anyone learning Ojibwe, especially with the conversational Ojibwe text and an English translation to compare it with. There were 25 stories in this slim volume, all with Smallwood's humor. My favorite story was probably "Aamoog / The Bees" about the time he went out knocking rice while hungover. He lived a very prank-filled life and honestly, it reminded me of my extended family.
January 20, 2025
I indicated I might like a copy of "Plums or Nuts" after hearing this author on NPR's "How to Do Everything" podcast, sharing that between pronouncing pecan as "peecan" and "pehcahn", one should prefer the latter, as it was based on an indiginous pronounciation of something like "behgahn". Then, it mentioned this book, which sounded fascinating and completely different than anything I'd been reading, so worth checking out. Fortunately, my sister gave me a copy, so I got the opportunity.
As it turned out, the main contents were not actually all that unfamiliar. If you grew if you grew up in the midwest and had friends who got into misadventures after drinking (or participated yourself), you'll probably be familiar with some similar stories. Maybe less about bees and canoeing, but you know, some pretty ordinary shennanigans for the most part. The other stories are also pretty relatable. Stories about kids living with different folks than their parents. Stories about not picking things up from elders. The concluding title story is the one that's most unexpected. For one thing, it's not at all about testicles, which was nice, but ultimately was about a very relatable theme.
The stories might be funnier in Ojibwe with puns and so forth, but I have no way to tell. If you're an English speaker looking for a book of funny anecdotes, I would recommend "You Suck, Sir" by Paul Bae.
The book has a certain charm as a labor-of-love from one friend and colleague to another; clearly the transcriber looks up to the storyteller.
We should get into what this book contains. First, it's an introduction by Michael Migizi Sullivan (Migizi) of Larry Amik Smallwood (Amik), telling his story, how they came to know each other around Ojibwe, and their agreements and differences concerning how to write Ojibwe. The body of work is then a series of 25 anecdotes is both Ojibwe and English, which I understand to have been spoken by Amik in Ojibwe and transcribed by Migizi. There is also an Ojibwe glossary, some translation notes, a photograph, and that sort of thing.
What there is not is any explanation of Ojibwe puns or aything like that. I think that's ultimately a good choice, letting the material stand for itself. Even without pursuing Ojibwe, it's a likeable experience, and I imagine this would be great for anyone studying the language.
As it turned out, the main contents were not actually all that unfamiliar. If you grew if you grew up in the midwest and had friends who got into misadventures after drinking (or participated yourself), you'll probably be familiar with some similar stories. Maybe less about bees and canoeing, but you know, some pretty ordinary shennanigans for the most part. The other stories are also pretty relatable. Stories about kids living with different folks than their parents. Stories about not picking things up from elders. The concluding title story is the one that's most unexpected. For one thing, it's not at all about testicles, which was nice, but ultimately was about a very relatable theme.
The stories might be funnier in Ojibwe with puns and so forth, but I have no way to tell. If you're an English speaker looking for a book of funny anecdotes, I would recommend "You Suck, Sir" by Paul Bae.
The book has a certain charm as a labor-of-love from one friend and colleague to another; clearly the transcriber looks up to the storyteller.
We should get into what this book contains. First, it's an introduction by Michael Migizi Sullivan (Migizi) of Larry Amik Smallwood (Amik), telling his story, how they came to know each other around Ojibwe, and their agreements and differences concerning how to write Ojibwe. The body of work is then a series of 25 anecdotes is both Ojibwe and English, which I understand to have been spoken by Amik in Ojibwe and transcribed by Migizi. There is also an Ojibwe glossary, some translation notes, a photograph, and that sort of thing.
What there is not is any explanation of Ojibwe puns or aything like that. I think that's ultimately a good choice, letting the material stand for itself. Even without pursuing Ojibwe, it's a likeable experience, and I imagine this would be great for anyone studying the language.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews