The customary cant about being an American Indian goes like this: Indians must live in wide open spaces; they must define their spirituality by chant, dance, and drum; they must pass down their traditions with reverent care; and they must offer tourists Indian art and Indian experiences to take home. On one side of commercial Indianness there is sloppy sentimentality, and on the other, speechless hatred. But what of those born between, like W. S. Penn, with an Anglo parent demanding that Indianness be abandoned and an Indian parent clinging to all that can be held? What of those who grew up in the cities? Can they express more than confusion, frustration, and rage? Are there alternatives to assimilation, submission, or revolt? In All My Sins Are Relatives Penn finds in his own family three generations trying to come to terms with their differences and their Indianness. Within its pages, Penn describes learning the depths of his love for his grandfather, to whom he dedicated this book. “As arrogant as youth can be, I was often too busy silently grading his grammar to pay real attention and see what he was giving me.” Among the gifts was an awareness of what a story could tell, what it could conceal, and what it could never tell. His grandfather inhabited a different sense of time, and it was a long while before Penn lived there too. When he did, he was back again with a story, working on how Indian writers wrote poetry and prose. In the work of other Indian writers and in his own Penn found that although white and Indian cultures cannot mingle, they can be bridged. All My Sins Are Relatives is a bridge.
"synopsis" may belong to another edition of this title.
W. S. Penn, an urban mixblood, is an associate professor of English at Michigan State University and the author of The Absence of Angels.
Penn, an associate professor of English at Michigan State and a novelist (The Absence of Angels), shares his thoughts on his mixed-blood Anglo and Native American heritage in these well-crafted literary essays. Born to a white mother and a father who descended from the Nez Perce and Osage Indians, Penn endured a childhood shaped largely by his father's shame about his Native American heritage and his abusive mother's hatred of all things Indian (they eventually divorced). In ``Dreaming,'' Penn tells how, torn between two cultures and suffering from prejudicial treatment by teachers and other adults, he pursued an Indian way of removing himself spiritually from pain. In another piece, ``Respect for Wendy Rose,'' Penn writes about early American Indian literature based on oral traditions, and about the current trends in Native American writing. In other, very personal pieces, Penn deals with the loving but uneasy relationship he has had with his Indian grandfather and his application for conscientious-objector status during the Vietnam War. Illustrations not seen by PW.
Copyright 1995 Cahners Business Information, Inc.
"About this title" may belong to another edition of this title.
Shipping:
US$ 3.95
Within U.S.A.
Shipping:
US$ 3.50
Within U.S.A.
Seller: Steve Thorson, Bookseller, Minneapolis, MN, U.S.A.
Hardcover. Condition: Fine. Dust Jacket Condition: Fine. 1st Edition. AS NEW Book is unread, tight page block, square corners, first edition as no additional printings. Unclipped dustjacket (priced at $25.00), no flaws. Book shipped well packed in a box and USPS tracking number supplied upon shipment. Seller Inventory # 002859
Quantity: 1 available
Seller: Steve Thorson, Bookseller, Minneapolis, MN, U.S.A.
Hardcover. Condition: Fine. Dust Jacket Condition: Fine. 1st Edition. AS NEW Book is unread, tight page block, square corners, first edition as no additional printings. Unclipped dustjacket (priced at $25.00), no flaws. Book shipped well packed in a box and USPS tracking number supplied upon shipment. Seller Inventory # 002714
Quantity: 1 available
Seller: Worn Bookworm, SAN MARCOS, CA, U.S.A.
Hardcover. Condition: Fine. Dust Jacket Condition: Fine. First Edition. As New in As New in Mylar Cover jacket 8vo-over 7¾"-9¾" tall. As new HB in like DJ. "Penn finds in his family 3 generations trying to come to terms with their differences and their Indianness". 1st Ed. Seller Inventory # 004769
Quantity: 1 available
Seller: Ann Open Book, Lansing, MI, U.S.A.
Hardcover. Condition: Very Good. Dust Jacket Condition: Very Good. 1st Edition. Inscribed by Author(s). Seller Inventory # 187820
Quantity: 1 available
Seller: ThriftBooks-Atlanta, AUSTELL, GA, U.S.A.
Hardcover. Condition: Very Good. No Jacket. Former library book; May have limited writing in cover pages. Pages are unmarked. ~ ThriftBooks: Read More, Spend Less 1.1. Seller Inventory # G080323709XI4N10
Quantity: 1 available
Seller: Smythe Books LLC, Hoschton, GA, U.S.A.
Hardcover. Condition: Fine. Dust Jacket Condition: Fine. 2nd Printing. Octavo; 257 + 1 pp. Seller Inventory # 10260
Quantity: 1 available
Seller: Inkberry Books, Niwot, CO, U.S.A.
Hardback. Condition: Fine. Dust Jacket Condition: Fine. 257 p. : ill. ; 23 cm. Seller Inventory # 1008129
Quantity: 1 available
Seller: GF Books, Inc., Hawthorne, CA, U.S.A.
Condition: Very Good. Book is in Used-VeryGood condition. Pages and cover are clean and intact. Used items may not include supplementary materials such as CDs or access codes. May show signs of minor shelf wear and contain very limited notes and highlighting. 1.1. Seller Inventory # 080323709X-2-3
Quantity: 1 available
Seller: WAVERLEY BOOKS ABAA, Santa Monica, CA, U.S.A.
Cloth. Condition: Fine. First Edition. Fine in a very close to fine dj. (Faint degree of discoloration at spine on dj.) Author's SECOND novel. Seller Inventory # 25414
Quantity: 1 available
Seller: Wizard Books, Long Beach, CA, U.S.A.
Hardcover. Condition: new. New. Seller Inventory # Wizard080323709X
Quantity: 1 available