{"product_id":"from-oral-to-written-a-celebration-of-indigenous-literature-in-canada-1980-2010-9781772011166","title":"From Oral to Written: A Celebration of Indigenous Literature in Canada, 1980-2010","description":"\u003cp\u003eAboriginal Canadians tell their own stories, about their own people, in their own voice, from their own perspective.\u003cbr\u003eIf as recently as forty years ago there was no recognizable body of work by Canadian writers, as recently as thirty years ago there was no Native literature in this country. Perhaps a few books had made a dent on the national consciousness: \u003cem\u003eThe Unjust Society\u003c\/em\u003e by Harold Cardinal, \u003cem\u003eHalfbreed\u003c\/em\u003e by Maria Campbell, and the poetry of Pauline Johnson and even Louis Riel. Now, three decades later, Native people have a literature that paints them in colours that are psychologically complex and sophisticated. They have a literature that validates their existence, that gives them dignity, that tells them that they and their culture, their ideas, their languages, are important if not downright essential to the long-term survival of the planet. \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eTomson Highway's \u003cem\u003eFrom Oral to Written\u003c\/em\u003e is a study of Native literature published in Canada between 1980 and 2010, a catalogue of amazing books that sparked the embers of a dormant voice. In the early 1980s, that voice rose up to overcome the major obstacle Native people have as writers: they are not able to write in their own Native languages, but have to write in the languages of the colonizer, languages that simply cannot capture the magic of Native mythology, the wild insanity of Trickster thinking. \u003cem\u003eFrom Oral to Written\u003c\/em\u003e is the story of the Native literary tradition, written - in multiple Aboriginal languages, in French, and in English - by a brave, committed, hard-working, and inspired community of exceptional individuals - from the Haida Nation on Haida Gwaii to the Mi'kmaq of Nova Scotia's Cape Breton Island. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eLeading Aboriginal author Tomson Highway surveys the first wave of Native writers published in Canada, highlighting the most gifted authors and the best stories they have told, offering non-Native readers access to reconciliation and understanding, and at the same time engendering among Native readers pride in a stellar body of work.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAbout the Author\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eTomson Highway\u003c\/strong\u003e is a writer from northern Manitoba. His best-known works are the plays \u003cem\u003eThe Rez Sisters\u003c\/em\u003e, \u003cem\u003eDry Lips Oughta Move to Kapuskasing\u003c\/em\u003e, \u003cem\u003eRose\u003c\/em\u003e, \u003cem\u003eErnestine Shuswap Gets Her Trout\u003c\/em\u003e, and \u003cem\u003eThe (Post) Mistress\u003c\/em\u003e, as well as the best-selling novel \u003cem\u003eKiss of the Fur Queen\u003c\/em\u003e. He writes in three languages: Cree (his mother tongue), French, and English. As a classically trained pianist (who also writes music), he has studied with some of the finest teachers in Canada, most notably William Aide and Anton Kuerti.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e","brand":"Talonbooks","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":50362920894738,"sku":"9781772011166","price":21.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0831\/4771\/8930\/files\/img_d8385c27-05ec-4d3d-bbe6-2a8ed78fbfa7.jpg?v=1728398923","url":"https:\/\/surprise-castle.myshopify.com\/products\/from-oral-to-written-a-celebration-of-indigenous-literature-in-canada-1980-2010-9781772011166","provider":"Surprise Castle","version":"1.0","type":"link"}