VOICES FROM FOUR DIRECTIONS

VOICES FROM FOUR DIRECTIONS Contemporary Translations of the Native Literatures of North America Brian Swann, Editor University of Nebraska Press, Lincoln, 2004. Notes, index, xxii + 617 pp. $70.00 cloth. $27.50 paper.

Voices from Four Directions, edited by noted scholar Brian Swann. is a welcome addition to Swann's previous collections of translations, Native American Songs and Poems: An Anthology and Coming to Light: Contemporary Translations of the Native Literatures of North America. It presents a selection of stories and songs from thirty-one North American indigenous traditions translated by both native speakers and language experts. Some of these translations are the result of collaborations between native and nonnative translators, for example, that of David Kozak and David I. Lopez (Tohono O'odham).

The native oral traditions presented in this 6l7-page anthology are organized in a circle-north, west, south and east-and range from the Inupiat of Alaska to the Catawba of South Carolina and from the Lake Miwok of California to the Menominee of Wisconsin. Each section is preceded by a brief commentary exploring such themes as the origins and significance of the text, the characteristics of oral performance, the cultural and historical contexts in which the text is grounded, the status of the native language, and the process of translation. These informative commentaries introduce the reader to the complexity and artistry of Native American oral traditions.

Native storytelling/singing is performed in a special time and place, is communal in nature, and involves speaker-listener creative interactions. Textualization of a living story/song transforms the expressive power of spoken words into the literariness of the silent text. As Brian Swann notes in his introduction, there is sometimes opposition to translation and publication of traditional stories and songs from within native communities due to concerns about property rights, sacredness of oral material, and various other issues. "An older, well-respected scholar had to withdraw from this project because of changing attitudes among the people she had long worked with," Swann notes (p. xvii).

The contributors to this volume took special care with regard to the translations. Translation that sensitively conveys the meanings of native words and phrases embedded in local contexts is not an easy undertaking. Many expressions are highly metaphorical and unwrapping multi-layered meanings requires profound knowledge of a given language and culture. Therefore, it is refreshing to find a volume that is devoted to the art of translation, one that carefully and respectfully presents translated texts that are semantically and stylistically accessible to a western audience. It needs to be noted, however, that the use of a bilingual format would have greatly increased the documentary value of this anthology as well as allowed the native voices to be heard, not only in English, but also in their original languages.

Voices from Four Directions is a valuable contribution to the field and enriches our knowledge of the literary merit of Native American verbal arts.

Maria Glowacka

Idaho State University, Pocatello

Copyright Montana Historical Society Summer 2005
Provided by ProQuest Information and Learning Company. All rights Reserved