American Indian Poetry: An Anthology of Songs and Chants

by George W. Cronyn (Editor)

First published in 1918, American Indian Poetry is a pioneer work of remarkable authenticity. Filled with pieces collected from Native Americans in their own languages and translated by leading scholars and poets of the day, it was the first book to give their oral verse its palce as an essential, vibrant part of North American literature. These songs and chants, ancient and modern, speak to the power and poignancy of ordinary life and to the deeply mystical. These are cries from a people at one with both spirit and earth, for all the world to hear and includes works from the major tribes from the Southeast to the Northwest Coast.

Genres: Poetry

294 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1970

Reviews

[Alex Richmond · Rating 3 out of 5]

Before anyone reach this review, I did not give this book a lower review because it is bad, I just did not thoroughly enjoyed the book, and I do put a lot of the reasoning on my own preferences. Native American culture, and poetry, are not books I typically read or find a lot of enjoyment. That does not mean they are bad, it just means I'm not the biggest fan.

That said, I feel that a lot of these songs and chants are impossible to fully appreciate without the music and culture behind them. I need them or short, and I feel that something must be missing because they do not feel like they could be songs or poems when they're only a few lines at best.

The book is well organized, the chapters are broken in the different regions of the United States. In the introduction of the book gives a history about the journey to translate these songs and chants so they could be understood for generations to come. This brief history about native Americans would be of great interest to historians, and I'm sure that those who have much more passion for this genre then I do would enjoy it more. But this isn't particularly favorite book of mine.

[Valerie · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good overview of the subject.

[Mills College Library]

811.008 C9479 1973