 [ Large Image ] | The Stone Canoe: Two Lost Mi’kmaq Texts Peter Sanger, Elizabeth Paul, Alan Syliboy 2007 / Literary Criticism / $29.95 9781554470433 / Trade paper / 192 pp This is a story about two stories and their travels through the written record. The written part begins in the mid-nineteenth century, when Silas T. Rand, a Baptist clergyman from Cornwallis, Nova Scotia, took as his task the translation of the Bible into Mi’kmaq—the language of the indigenous communities in the region. In the process of developing his vocabulary, Rand transcribed narratives from Mi’kmaq storytellers, and following his death, 87 of these stories were published in a book called Legends of the Micmacs. As his understanding of the language grew, Rand began to translate the stories as he heard them, and to record them in English. Until recently, it appeared that none of the early transcriptions in the original Mi’kmaq had survived. Then, in 2003, poet and essayist Peter Sanger uncovered two manuscripts among the Rand holdings in the library at Acadia University in Wolfville, Nova Scotia. One of these contains the story of Little Thunder and his journey to find a wife, as told to Rand by Susan Barss in 1847. The other is the story of a woman who survives alone on an island after being abandoned by her husband. It was told by a storyteller known to us now only as Old Man Stevens and dates from 1884. Both are among the earliest examples of indigenous Canadian literature recorded in their original language; the 1847 transcript being perhaps the earliest. Their publication in The Stone Canoe makes a significant contribution to our understanding of Mi’kmaq storytelling and indigenous Canadian literature. With the same passion for research and sleuthing that characterized his two previous prose publications, Spar (GP, 2002) and White Salt Mountain (GP, 2005), Peter Sanger provides commentary that recounts the adventure of his discoveries and the paths of written correspondence, library acquisitions, name changes, transcriptions, translations and human error that separate and reconnect two stories and their tellers. He also unpacks some of the complexities of Mi’kmaq cultural motifs as they emerge in these stories. At the heart of The Stone Canoe are the two stories themselves, including Rand’s published versions, along with new translations and transliterations by Elizabeth Paul, a Mi’kmaq speaker and teacher of the Eskasoni First Nation. Paul provides new English translations, and Mi’kmaq transliterations of Rand’s transcripts, as well as notes detailing issues of language and culture. The Stone Canoe also features artwork by Alan Syliboy, a Millbrook First Nation artist. Syliboy’s original ink drawings illustrate scenes from the two narratives, employing some of the traditional patterns in Mi’kmaq art, and work visually alongside the translations and Sanger’s engagement with the patterns contained in the stories. Note: stock is low on this item... go ahead and purchase and we will let you know if it is available. To purchase this title: Add it to your cart | Other Books by this Author |  | Sea Run: Notes on John Thompson’s Stilt Jack Peter Sanger 2023 / Literary Criticism Canadian Poetry / $28.95 CAN 9781554472581 / Trade paper / 144 pp |  | Biorachan Road Peter Sanger 2022 / Essay / $150.00 CAN Fine / 22 pp |  | Odysseus Asleep: Uncollected Sequences, 1994-2019 Peter Sanger 2019 / Canadian Poetry / $21.95 CAN 9781554472048 / Trade paper / 128 pp |  | Lightfield: The Photography of Thaddeus Holownia Peter Sanger 2018 / Photography, Essays, Canadian Art / $24.95 CAN 9781554471775 / Trade paper / 112 pp |  | Of Things Unknown: Critical Essays, 1978–2005 Peter Sanger 2015 / Literary Criticism / $34.95 CAN 9781554471508 / Trade paper / 368 pp |  | Oikos Peter Sanger 2014 / Essay / $9.95 CAN 9781554471256 / Pamphlet / 16 pp |  | Fireship: Early Poems, 1965–1991 Peter Sanger 2013 / Poetry / $25.95 CAN 9781554471218 / Trade paper / 192 pp |  | John Stokes’ Horse Peter Sanger 2012 / Poetry / $21.95 CAN 9781554471133 / Trade paper / 128 pp |  | Through Darkling Air: The Poetry of Richard Outram Peter Sanger 2010 / Biography / $65.95 CAN 9781554470617 / Hardcover / 512 pp |  | Aiken Drum Peter Sanger 2006 / Poetry / $19.95 CAN 9781554470143 / Trade paper / 144 pp |  | Aiken Drum Peter Sanger 2006 / Poetry / $49.95 CAN 9781554470150 / Fine / 144 pp |  | White Salt Mountain: Words in Time Peter Sanger 2005 / Books & reading, Books & reading / $59.95 CAN 9781554470037 / Fine / 240 pp |  | White Salt Mountain: Words in Time Peter Sanger 2005 / Books & reading, Books & reading / $27.95 CAN 9781554470044 / Trade paper / 240 pp |  | Spar: Words in Place Peter Sanger 2002 / Books & reading / $21.95 CAN 9781894031547 / Trade paper / 112 pp | Spar: Words in Place Peter Sanger 2002 / Books & reading / $49.95 CAN 9781894031554 / Fine / 112 pp |  | Divisions of the Heart: Elizabeth Bishop and the Art of Memory and Place Sandra Barry, Peter Sanger, Gwendolyn Davies 2001 / Essays / $32.95 CAN 9781894031318 / Trade paper / 336 pp |  | Kerf Peter Sanger 2001 / Poetry / $4.95 CAN 9781894031530 / Pamphlet / 24 pp |
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