Why Indigenous Literatures Matter

De: Daniel Heath Justice

Narrado por: Daniel Heath Justice

Part survey of the field of Indigenous literary studies, part cultural history and part literary polemic, Why Indigenous Literatures Matter asserts the vital significance of literary expression to the political, creative and intellectual efforts of Indigenous peoples today. Selected as an Equity, Justice and Inclusion Community Read by the Association of University Presses.

In considering the connections between literature and lived experience, this book contemplates four key questions at the heart of Indigenous kinship traditions: how do we learn to be human? How do we become good relatives? How do we become good ancestors? How do we learn to live together? Blending personal narrative and broader historical and cultural analysis with close readings of key creative and critical texts, Justice argues that Indigenous writers engage with these questions in part to challenge settler-colonial policies and practices that have targeted Indigenous connections to land, history, family and self. More importantly, Indigenous writers imaginatively engage the many ways that communities and individuals have sought to nurture these relationships and project them into the future.

This provocative volume challenges listeners to critically consider and rethink their assumptions about Indigenous literature, history and politics while never forgetting the emotional connections of our shared humanity and the power of story to effect personal and social change. Written with a generalist audience firmly in mind, but addressing issues of interest to specialists in the field, this book welcomes new audiences to Indigenous literary studies while offering more seasoned audiences a renewed appreciation for these transformative literary traditions.

©2018 Wilfrid Laurier University Press (P)2021 Wilfrid Laurier University Press

Reseñas de la Crítica

"This book simultaneously affirms Indigenous writing, introduces Indigenous readers to the canon of Indigenous writing, and teaches non-Indigenous folks how to read our literatures. That’s impressive, and it’s done in a beautiful, intimate and at times playful way. Why Indigenous Literatures Matter was an honour to read. It is instructional without instructing, grounded, confident, affirming, generous, brilliant, clear and joyful." (Leanne Betasamosake Simpson, author of As We Have Always Done and This Accident of Being Lost)

"Concise, engaging and readable, Why Indigenous Literatures Matter evokes Indigenous frameworks of relationality at every turn, whether the history of dispossession and removal, or pressing contemporary issues like reconciliation and climate change. Ultimately, this book argues that Indigenous literatures matter because they transform lives. The last chapter, ‘Reading the Ruptures,’ is startling, moving, brilliant storytelling - troubling and transformative tribalography, laced with humour, provocation, and insight. The characters, drawn from real life, are ones I want to travel with." (Lisa Brooks, Amherst College, author of Our Beloved Kin: A New History of King Philip’s War)

"Justice makes strong, well-reasoned arguments that indigenous liberation is essential for indigenous peoples to survive and recover from colonialism...and offers erudite, passionate analysis of and paths toward discovering new material." (Publishers Weekly)