The Truth About Stories: A Native Narrative (The CBC Massey Lectures) - Softcover

King, Thomas

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0887846963 ISBN 13: 9780887846960

Publisher: House of Anansi Press, 2003

Synopsis

"Stories are wondrous things. And they are dangerous." In The Truth About Stories, Native novelist and scholar Thomas King explores how stories shape who we are and how we understand and interact with other people. From creation stories to personal experiences, historical anecdotes to social injustices, racist propaganda to works of contemporary Native literature, King probes Native culture's deep ties to storytelling. With wry humor, King deftly weaves events from his own life as a child in California, an academic in Canada, and a Native North American with a wide-ranging discussion of stories told by and about Indians. So many stories have been told about Indians, King comments, that "there is no reason for the Indian to be real. The Indian simply has to exist in our imaginations." That imaginative Indian that North Americans hold dear has been challenged by Native writers - N. Scott Momaday, Leslie Marmon Silko, Louis Owens, Robert Alexie, and others - who provide alternative narratives of the Native experience that question, create a present, and imagine a future. King reminds the reader, Native and non-Native, that storytelling carries with it social and moral responsibilties. "Don't say in the years to come that you would have lived your life differently if only you had heard this story. You've heard it now."

About this title

About the Author:

Thomas King is the author of Medicine River; Green Grass, Running Water; Truth and Bright Water; and a collection of short stories, One Good Story, That One. In 2003, he was the first Native North American to deliver Canada's Prestigious Massey Lectures. The Truth About Stories won Canada's highest literary honor, the Trillium Award, in the same year. He is professor of English at the University of Guelph.

Synopsis:

Explores the ties between Native American culture and storytelling, from creation stories to personal experiences, historical anecdotes to social injustices, and racist propaganda to works of contemporary Native American literature.

About this edition

• Publisher: House of Anansi Press
• Publication date: 2003
• ISBN 10: 0887846963
• ISBN 13: 9780887846960
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 208