Reviews for Life Woven with Song

The average rating for Life Woven with Song based on 2 reviews is 4.5 stars.

Review # 1 was written on 2016-12-22 00:00:00 James Rudland A Tlingit (Alaska Native) compilation of short stories, essays, and poetry about the Tlingit community, landscape, ceremony, and language. The opening essay gives a background of the Tlingit, discussing their relationship with salmon and explains that the "Tlingit people historically practiced subsistence hunting, fishing, and logging without dominating or destroying the natural resource" (p5). She also discusses how oral tradition and storytelling are vital to community. Many of these opening stories also have signs of oral tradition in them, like onomatopoeia (p22). I think that "Chemawa Cemetery," which talks about boarding school experiences, is very good. But the titular essay "Life Woven with Song" is phenomenal if you would like to learn about the history of the Tlingit in under 50 pages. It is great essay about the influence of art/song in the author's life, covers oral tradition and story, the history of the Tlingit people and their interactions with the federal government, language issues, and resistance. The poetry section is also very nice. I'm a huge fan of seeing Indigenous authors use their native language in their poetry, and this collection delivers. I also like the example of "Grandpa Jakwteen in Eclipse" because it is a folk story that is transformed into poetry (p58). "My Auntie Jennie's Bed" discusses traditions that are learned through playing as children, and about teaching clan/kinship (p60). Part 3 is a Raven play, which is a more contemporary example of telling story through plays. It is well worth a read. I once used this book in a class and had students act out or read out scenes as if they were the characters and they found it very engaging. Just a thought if you teach. A wonderful collection I recommend to everyone that likes autobiography, Tlingit studies, etc.

Review # 2 was written on 2017-01-05 00:00:00 Marshall Du Bois This is the first book I've read that feels Tlingit. Reading this felt like hearing the stories told by my Tlingit family members: fishing stories, thoughts about salmon, myths of Raven. The Tlingit language is peppered in, and so is the history of the people's interactions with Russia and America. The format of the book is odd, autobiography, short stories, history, poems, and plays all together. But it works without too much confusion at transitions.