The outpouring of Native American literature that followed the publication of N. Scott Momaday's Pulitzer Prize-winning "House Made of Dawn" in 1968 continues unabated. Fiction and poetry, autobiography and discursive writing from such writers as James Welch, Gerald Vizenor, and Leslie Marmon Silko constitute what critic Kenneth Lincoln in 1983 termed the Native American Renaissance. This collection of essays takes the measure of that efflorescence.
The contributors scrutinize writers from Momaday to Sherman Alexie, analyzing works by Native women, First Nations Canadian writers, postmodernists, and such theorists as Robert Warrior, Jace Weaver, and Craig Womack. Weaver's own examination of the development of Native literary criticism since 1968 focuses on Native American literary nationalism. Alan R. Velie turns to the achievement of Momaday to examine the ways Native novelists have influenced one another. Post-renaissance and postmodern writers are discussed in company with newer writers such as Gordon Henry, Jr., and D. L. Birchfield. Critical essays discuss the poetry of Simon Ortiz, Kimberly Blaeser, Diane Glancy, Luci Tapahonso, and Ray A. Young Bear, as well as the life writings of Janet Campbell Hale, Carter Revard, and Jim Barnes. An essay on Native drama examines the work of Hanay Geiogamah, the Native American Theater Ensemble, and Spider Woman Theatre.
In the volume's concluding essay, Kenneth Lincoln reflects on the history of the Native American Renaissance up to and beyond his seminal work, and discusses Native literature's legacy and future. The essays collected here underscore the vitality of Native American literature and the need for debate on theory and ideology.

Along with the traditional, primarily oral, literature of tales, songs, memoirs, and oratory, this revised anthology offers a large selection of poetry and fiction by American Indian women, including an excerpt from Louise Erdrich's Love Medicine and poetry by Paula Gunn Allen, Rayna Green, Joy Harjo, nila northSun, and others. There is also a rich array of works by contemporary Indian men from different regions, such as N. Scott Momaday, James Welch, Gerald Vizenor, and Maurice Kenny.

This guide to Native American history and culture outlines new ways of understanding American Indian cultures in contemporary contexts. The book covers the key issues of: * The intimate relationship of culture to land. * The nature of cultural contact and conflict in the period after European contact. * The unique relationship that Native communities have with the United States government. * The significance of language. * The vitality of contemporary cultures and the variety of artistic styles, from literature and poetry to painting and sculpture to performance arts. This thematic approach places history, culture and intellectual production in the contexts of politics and power. Using specific examples throughout, the culture of Native Americans is seen from the point of views of Native people as well as from the points of view of Europe and the United States. Features * New approach to the subject. * Argument shaped by interaction with Native scholars and members of Native communities. * Draws on work of historians, anthropologists, ethnographers, literary critics and art historians. * Literature survey with assessment of sources and detailed bibliography. * Includes 18 colour plates. Why not subscribe to the Journal of Transatlantic Studies? http://www.eup.ed.ac.uk/journals/content.aspx?pageId=1&journalId=12157" for details.