Stories in a new skin approaches to Inuit literature /
Keavy Martin.
- Winnipeg : University of Manitoba Press, (c)2012.
- 1 online resource (xvi, 180 pages :) maps.
- Contemporary studies on the north, 3 .
Includes bibliographies and index.
A note on languages -- Maps [Political map of Nunavut ; Inuit Regions of Canada : Ethnographic map of the Arctic (Aboriginal, Native, Inuit, First Nations Groups] ;-Miut Groups of Nunavut] -- Silattuqsarvik -- A place (and time) to become wise -- "It was said they had one song": "Tuniit" stories and the origins of Inuit nationhood -- "Tagavani Isumataujut" (They are the leaders here): Reading Unipkaaqtuat, the classic Inuit tales -- "Let me sing slowly and search for a song": Inuit "Poetry" and the legacy of Knud Rasmussen -- "I can tell you the story as I heard it": Life stories and the Inuit Qaujimajatuqangit land bridge -- Afterword: Inuuqatigiittiarniq -- Living together in a good way -- Appendix A: Six versions of Ivaluardjuk's song: I. Rasmussen's Danish (1921) -- II.Trans. W.E. Calvert and W. Worster (1929) -- III. Trans. Tom Lowenstein (1973) "A hunting memory" -- IV. Trans. Aenne Schmucker (1947) "Jagderinnerung" -- V. Ivaluardjuk's song in the journals of Knud Rasmussen (Inuktitut) -- VI. Ivaluardjuk's song in the The journals of Knud Rasmussen (English) -- Appendix B: Songs by Imaruittuq. I. Lyrics to "Inngirajaalirlanga ("Let me sing slowly") -- Imaruittuq's own song -- Glossary.
In an age where southern power-holders look north and see only vacant polar landscapes, isolated communities, and exploitable resources, it is important to note that the Inuit homeland encompasses extensive philosophical, political, and literary traditions. Stories in a New Skin is a seminal text that explores these Arctic literary traditions and, in the process, reveals a pathway into Inuit literary criticism. Author Keavy Martin considers writing, storytelling, and performance from a range of genres and historical periods--the classic stories and songs of Inuit oral traditions, life writing, oral histories, and contemporary fiction, poetry and film--and discusses the ways in which these texts constitute an autonomous literary tradition. She draws attention to the interconnection between language, form and context and illustrates the capacity of Inuit writers, singers and storytellers to instruct diverse audiences in the appreciation of Inuit texts. Although Eurowestern academic contexts and literary terminology are a relatively foreign presence in Inuit territory, Martin builds on the inherent adaptability and resilience of Inuit genres in order to foster greater southern awareness of a tradition whose audience has remained primarily northern.