Saanii Dahataat: The Women Are Singing : Poems and Stories (Sun Tracks, Vol 23)
Navajo poet and English professor Tapahonso here celebrates the importance of conversation and the spoken word among her people. Driving back and forth between her parents' home in Shiprock, New Mexico, and her current home in Lawrence, Kansas, this gifted writer recalls snatches of family memories and tribal stories through the intermingled forms of poetry, songs, prayers, and anecdotes. Ranging across Navajo history, this collection in English and Navajo is warm and witty. Tapahonso states that for people like herself who live away from their homelands, "writing is the means for... restoring our spirits to the state of hozho , or beauty, which is the basis of Navajo philosophy." This book is a clear reflection of that sentiment. Recommended for most collections.- Lisa A. Mitten, Univ. of Pittsburgh Lib.Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc.--This text refers to theHardcoveredition.