Captured in the middle : tradition and experience in contemporary Native American writing / Sidner Larson.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Larson, Sidner J., 1949-

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

American literature--Indian authors--History and criticism--Theory, etc.

American literature.

American literature--20th century--History and criticism--Theory, etc.

Indians of North America--Intellectual life.

Indians of North America.

Group identity in literature.

Experience in literature.

Indians in literature.

American literature--Indian authors.

Physical Description:

183 pages ; 25 cm

Place of Publication:

Seattle : University of Washington Press, [2000]

Summary:

Sidner Larson's Captured in the Middle embodies the very nature of Indian storytelling, which is circular, drawing upon the personal experiences of the narrator at every turn. Larson teaches about contemporary American Indian literature by describing his own experiences as a child on the Fort Belknap Reservation in Montana and as a professor at the University of Oregon.

Larson argues that contemporary Native American literary Criticism is stalled. On one hand are the scholars who portray Indians stereotypically, assuming that the experiences of all tribal groups have largely been the same. On the other hand are those scholars who focus on the "authenticity" of the writer. In contrast, Larson considers the scholarship of Vine Deloria, Jr., who has a genuine understanding of the balance required in dealing with these issues. Two writers who have successfully redescribed many of the contemporary romantic stereotypes are James Welch and Louise Erdrich, both northern Plains Indians whose works are markedly different, their writing highlighting the disparate ways tribal groups have responded to colonization.

Larson describes Indians today as postapocalyptic peoples who have already lived through the worst imaginable suffering. By confronting the issues of fear, suppression, and lost identity through literature, Indians may finally move forward to imagine and create for themselves a better future, serving as models for the similarly fractured cultures found throughout the world today.

Contents:

House Made of Cards: The Construction of American Indians 21

American Indians, Authenticity, and the Future 39

Vine Deloria Jr.: Reconstructing the Logic of Belief 58

Constituting and Preserving Self through Writing 70

Louise Erdrich: Protecting and Celebrating Culture 78

James Welch's Indian Lawyer 104

Pragmatism and American Indian Thought 129.

Notes:

"A McLellan book."

Includes bibliographical references (pages 167-173) and index.

ISBN:

0295979046

OCLC:

42428822