This classic work explores the vast differences between oral and literate cultures and offers a brilliantly lucid account of the intellectual, literary and social effects of writing, print and electronic technology. In the course of his study, Walter J. Ong offers fascinating insights into oral genres across the globe and through time and ...
There is a gift so simple that it requires no ribbons for wrapping, yet which is so miraculous, it has the power to transform our lives. This is The Gift of Story, a tale of love and wisdom from Dr. Clarissa Pinkola EstA(c)s, eminent psychoanalyst and author. When an old woman flees to a hut in a lonely forest, begins Dr. EstA(c)s, she seeks ...
Professor Walter Ong's new book explores some of the profound changes in our thought processes, personality and social structures which are the result ...of the development of speech, writing and print. The cumulative impact of the book is dazzling. Read this book. Literature will never be the same again. And neither will you.' Robert Giddings, ...
An enchanting collection of 110 tales translated from 22 different languages, by turns harrowing and comic, sardonic and allegorical, mysterious and romantic. "A truly remarkable collection . . . from the introduction to the explanatory notes, the entire book outstandingly demonstrates the enduring strength of Indian folklore tradition".--Library ...
The Carmina Gadelica is the most comprehensive collection of poems and prayers from the Gaelic tradition of oral poetry. Gathered by Alexander Carmichael, in the Highlands and Islands of Scotland, 'from Arran to Caithness, from Perth to St. Kilda'. The poems had been handed down through the generations in a living oral tradition. This tradition ...
Based on a corpus of Texan oral narratives collected by the author over the past fifteen years, this study presents an analysis of the literary qualities or orally performed verbal art, focusing on the significance of its social context. Although the tales included are all from Texas, they are representative of oral storytelling traditions in ...
This book brings together as complete a record of traditional Yupik rules and rituals as is possible in the late twentieth century. Incorporating elders' recollections of the system of ruled boundaries and ritual passages that guided their parents and grandparents a century ago, Ann Fienup-Riordan brings into focus the complex, creative Yupik ...
Seven sets of intercultural authors present Native American oral texts with commentary, exploring dimensions of perspective, discovery, and meaning that emerge through collaboration.
After a career working and living with American Indians and studying their traditions, Barre Toelken has written this sweeping study of Native American folklore in the West. Within a framework of performance theory, cultural worldview, and collaborative research, he examines Native American visual arts, dance, oral tradition (story and song), ...
In the last two decades, the storytelling movement has gained momentum, both as an educational tool and an entertainment form. But the revival is so young that there is no common vocabulary for discussing it. Contemporary storytelling has its roots in the oral and literary trditions. Performances are often judged according to the aesthetics of ...
'Among the finest books ever written about Dublin' Dermot Bolger, 'The Sunday Tribune' 'This book will long stand as the definitive social history of Ireland's gulags, where the poor were herded together in conditions worse than animals, and will hopefully serve as further inspiration to those who still campaign for decent housing for all citizens ...
With vigour and insight, Crow elders tell their favorite stories of the exploits of memorable leaders from years past in The Way of the Warrior. Rousing adventures and unforgettable warriors inhabit these tales: the impetuous Rabbit Child, who rushes to his fate as he keeps a sacred vow; the rise to power and dreaded revenge of Red Bear, one of ...
Building on his work in "Traditional Oral Epic and Immanent Art", John Foley dissolves the perceived barrier between "oral" and "written," creating a composite theory from oral-formulaic theory and the ethnography of speaking and ethnopoetics. He argues that a work's "word-power" derives from its real performance and its implied traditional ...
"Reserve Memories" examines how myths and narratives about the past have enabled a Northern Athabaskan community to understand and confront challenges and opportunities in the present. For over five centuries, the Chilcotin people have lived in relative isolation in the rich timberlands and scattered meadows of the inland Northwest, in what is ...
The literature of the western world begins with one of its greatest achievements. The stories of the wrath of Achilles and its consequences, and of the wanderings of Odysseus, have been admired from ancient times to the present day. The two great epics can be read and enjoyed, unreflectingly, as tales of adventure; or they can be studied as ...
Oral traditions are historical sources of a special nature. Their special nature derives from the fact that they are "unwritten" sources couched in a form suitable for oral transmission, and that their preservation depends on the powers of memory of successive generations of human beings. In many parts of the world inhabited by peoples without ...
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The Faithful Gardener: A Wise Tale about That Which Can Never Die