Bawaajimo: A Dialect of Dreams in Anishinaabe Language and Literature

Description

Bawaajimo: “A Dialect of Dreams in Anishinaabe Language and Literature “combines literary criticism| sociolinguistics| native studies| and poetics to introduce an Anishinaabe way of reading.
Although nationally specific| the book speaks to a broad audience by demonstrating an indigenous literary methodology.
Investigating the language itself| its place of origin| its sound and structure| and its current usage provides new critical connections between North American fiction| Native American literatures| and Anishinaabe narrative.
The four Anishinaabe authors discussed in the book| Louise Erdrich| Jim Northrup| Basil Johnston| and Gerald Vizenor| share an ethnic heritage but are connected more clearly by a culture of tales| songs| and beliefs.
Each of them has heard| studied| and written in Anishinaabemowin| making their heritage language a part of the backdrop and sometimes the medium| of their work.
All of them reference the power and influence of the Great Lakes region and the “Anishinaabeakiing|” and they connect the landscape to the original language.
As they reconstruct and deconstruct the “aadizookaan|” the traditional tales of Nanabozho and other mythic figures| they grapple with the legacy of cultural genocide and write toward a future that places ancient beliefs in the center of the cultural horizon.