A Story as Sharp as a Knife: The Classical Haida Mythtellers and Their World (Masterworks of the Classical Haida Mythtellers, 1)

This is an examination of the Haida storytelling tradition, bringing their perspective of the world and the human place in it. Their world was far different from ours; the collection of their stories necessarily came from a time when their world was already dead or dying. Their ethics, mores, humor, valuation of each other, are all from perspectives odd or even alien to us. Good introduction to a culture where food was obtained in ways Western culture has forgotten, rank was conferred in ways that had little in common with our present culture and little in common with historic European society (ostentatious consumption and conferral of valuables was much more common in Europe than was ostentatious destruction of valuables), and we stand on the other side of the post-contact destruction of the vast majority of the Haida people.

What I really love about this book is that the author brings history, sociology, linguistics, and literary analysis to bear on the Haida mythic literature so that there is enough context for us to understand it. In doing so, the author also shows us how we should think about myths, literature, and different cultures more generally.The stories Robert Bringhurst covers were originally collected in their original language and translated by John Swanton a hundred years ago. Swanton's technique was rather unique at the time, because most of Swanton's contemporaries collected Native American stories only in English and tried to extrapolate a generalized story from the culture rather than preserve the individuality of each contributor's work.Bringhurst describes the process by which Swanton did this, describes the mythtellers Swanton talked to, and analyzes the mythtellers works, pointing out aspects of the stories that are unique to their speakers and general to the culture. Bringhurst spends some time describing the Haida culture generally, its relationship to other nations along the West Coast, and how they were affected by Western culture, religion, and (tragically) diseases.

Bringhurst is a great author. He is a poet, and that shows in his elegant, readable prose and his sensitivity to the poetry of Haida myth tellers. This book does a lot, covering Haida oral artistry, biography, history of First Nations, history of anthropology/linguistics in Canada. Anyone interested in the native people of North America should read this book. I wish more anthropologists would write books like this. A true gem.

Bringhurst brings a sensitive, learned, poet's touch to these translations. The background provided is critical to a comprehensive (as best as this whhhite person could hope for) understanding of the land, sky and culture that gave rose to these stories and worldview. Best read aloud in a tent along the roaring rivers of the western mountains. Or sitting on top of a volcanic mountain in mexico, or your armchair by a wood stove.

he is controversial among the people about whom he writes. But he makes clear how reliable oral traditions can and cannot be.

A fascinating book that I will be able to go back to, forever. Well worth the purchase. The language is difficult but well-explained. Having been privileged to see the Dancing of the Robes, this book has taken me deeper into the stories of new friends and their culture.

This is a really fascinating book about Haida culture and oral tradition. Great read if you are into First Nations’ history.

I wanted the stories so had to pull them from the information about storytellers. For my use, I should have gotten a storybook,

Bringhurst gives a fascinating description of the nature and nobility of the Haida culture. He also provides great insight into the nature of the art of oral storytelling - and not just the classical Haida tellers.

Excellent. I have found this to be an informative and interesting book. Thank you.

excellent, speedy dispatch

No problems as described many thanks

I have been wanting this for a long time and struggling to track down a copy. It is exactly as described by the shop - I would recommend the book to anyone interested in other cultures myths.