Hozho�Walking in Beauty: Native American Stories of Inspiration, Humor, and Life FROM THE PUBLISHER
About the Author
Paula Gunn Allen is a professor of Ameican Indian Studies, English, and creative writing at UCLA. She is the author of Off the Reservations: Reflections on Boundary-Busting, Border-Crossing Loose Cannons; Studies in American Indian Literature; and The Sacred Hoop and the editor of Spider Woman's Granddaughters: Traditional Tales of Contemporary Writing by Native American Women.
Carolyn Dunn Anderson is a poet and writer. She is the author of Outfoxing Coyote, a volume of poetry, and her work has appeared in the anthologies The Colour of Resistance and Reinventing the Enemy's Language.
SYNOPSIS
Hozho-the Navajo word for "walking in beauty"-lies at the heart of these 25 stories of Native American wit and wisdom-stories in which Deer Spirit, Old Coyote, Sacred Mountains, crystal caves, and basketball magic reign.
Survival and transcendence are central themes among Native writings, but humor and a sense of play resonate throughout these tales as well. Featuring well-known and up-and-coming Native American writers, this unique anthology captures the enduring traditions of indigenous peoples.
Hozho: Walking in Beauty reveals the rich tapestry of Indian life in contemporary America. It examines the experience not only of what it means to be Indian, straddling both Western and Native worlds, but also what it means to be an American, a hybrid of people living in a land of diverse cultures.
FROM THE CRITICS
KLIATT
This collection of 25 short stories seeks to foster "a deeper appreciation of a culture that is still under siege." Hozho means "walking in beauty, walking in a sacred manner, walking with a peaceful heart..." The editors observe that Indians cannot escape that they are "enmeshed in a fabric of â?�white'." The collection is unique in that many of the stories, reflective as they are of lives with many difficulties, encompass humor. Sample stories: A man wishes to convert to Christianity and a young woman missionary longs to baptize him, but what are they to do about the two wives who are part of his loving, stable household? A modern version of a giveaway—Grab Day—involves rolls of paper towels, fruit, a beach ball, and cans of pop that are dangerous if one hits your head. Twin Indian high school athletes hope their father will not show up and embarrass them during the big game. A Mexican woman draws a curse onto her unfaithful husband. A radio station promises to pay for news called in but refuses when the story is "only" about a woman who shoots her drunken lover. The quality of writing is excellent, and readers will find an understanding of Indian culture and sometimes spirituality they hardly sensed in nonfiction material they may have read. KLIATT Codes: SA—Recommended for senior high school students, advanced students, and adults. 2001, McGraw Hill, Contemporary Books, 223p., $16.95. Ages 16 to adult. Reviewer: Edna M. Boardman; Minot, ND , November 2001 (Vol. 35, No. 6)
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