From the Glittering World: A Navajo Story

Be the first to write a review

Overview

The Diné, or Navajo, creation story says there were four worlds before this, the Glittering World. For the present-day Diné this is a world of glittering technology and influences from outside the sacred land entrusted to them by the Holy People. From the Glittering World conveys in vivid language how a contemporary Diné writer experiences this world as a mingling of the profoundly traditional with the sometimes jarringly, sometimes alluringly new.

"Throughout the book, Morris’s command of a crisp unpretentious ...

See more details below
Paperback
$19.01
BN.com price
(Save 23%)$24.95 List Price
Other sellers (Paperback)
  • All (23) from $1.99   
  • New (3) from $17.48   
  • Used (20) from $1.99   
Sending request ...

More About This Book

Overview

The Diné, or Navajo, creation story says there were four worlds before this, the Glittering World. For the present-day Diné this is a world of glittering technology and influences from outside the sacred land entrusted to them by the Holy People. From the Glittering World conveys in vivid language how a contemporary Diné writer experiences this world as a mingling of the profoundly traditional with the sometimes jarringly, sometimes alluringly new.

"Throughout the book, Morris’s command of a crisp unpretentious prose is most impressive…His style is so low-key that he hardly seems to be trying to be ’artistic,’ yet the cumulative effect of these pieces is quite powerful. For Morris’s beautiful descriptions of the remote Navajo reservation this book deserves to be on the shelf of anyone tracking the literature of the Southwest."-Western American Literature

"Beginning with the Navajo creation story and ending with the summation of everything in between, Morris shows an incredible agility in jumping from truth to myth, from now to then, and from what is to what might have been."-The Sunday Oklahoman

"In From the Glittering World, Irvin Morris has woven a wondrous and sometimes terrifying weave of stories centered in the Navajo experience. . . . Irvin Morris’ strong style, his vivid imagery, his deft handling of complex structures, and his deep knowledge of Navajo tradition combine to produce a work as powerful and enduring as Leslie Marmon Silko’s Storyteller and N. Scott Momaday’s The Names. With From the Glittering World, Irvin Morris has joined the ranks of great contemporary authors."-Telluride Times-Journal

Read More Show Less

Editorial Reviews

Publishers Weekly - Publisher's Weekly
The story of the Native American's struggle to survive in two worlds, Native and white, goes back well before the likes of Sherman Alexie, Leslie Marmon Silko and James Welch to Charles Eastman (The Soul of an Indian) and his predecessors. One of the latest to tell the story is Morris, a member of the Tbaah clan of the Navajo Nation and a teacher at State University of New York, Buffalo. He opens with a Navajo creation story about how the Fifth World, the Glittering World, came to be. From there, Morris moves forward, blending myth, fiction and memoir to give readers stories ranging from the Navajo's tragic Long Walk in 1863 to a poignant tale of a lonely Navajo grandmother's struggle to reclaim her grandson from the world of the bilaganaa (whites). Morris's lyrical voice, his sharp eye for detail, combined with lean prose, leads readers into the harrowing, tragic and outrageous land of the Glittering World. Here, the traditional world of Navajo clans, skinwalkers, hogans and other facets of reservation life clash with harsh urban realities encountered in places stretching from Hollywood Boulevard to a Gallup, N.M., jail cell. The stories are sprinkled throughout with Navajo words; this technique, though initially distracting, by the end serves to enhance the theme of the clash and combination of two disparate cultures. (Feb.)
KLIATT
The colorful creation story that opens the book shows an ordered world in which the First Man and First Woman give birth to the Holy People. The Nilch'i dine'e (popularly known as Navajo) are cast out of this perfect world and ascend to the fifth world, the glittering world. An elaborate tale that weaves between comfortable prosperity and menace, like a Shakespearean play or a Broadway musical, one can imagine it being spun out over campfires during long evenings. This story serves as a backdrop to stories about what life for the Dine' is like now, when an uneasy relationship persists between the whites and the Indians. Old cultural elements linger amid a world of highways and laundromats, churches and schools, commodities and deteriorating HUD houses. Most of the book is comprised of stories and anecdotes, like the time a truckload of pigs overturned, inspiring the local people to become pig farmers, a situation that lasted until everyone tired of pork. When someone ordered a strolling Dine' to get off his property, he was tempted to say that it was land originally stolen from his people. Though some of the individual incidents seem trivial, the whole paints a powerful picture of what day-to-day life is like for the Dine' as they struggle to survive amid the cultural crosscurrents of the old and the new. One senses a connection to the earth that continues in the spiritual view of the Dine', a linking of family and land that stretches back to the old days. Chapter titles are a bit hard to follow, as they consist of Dine' words followed by translations, e.g. "Ootil (It is being carried)"; but this is not a major problem. This is a bridge to understanding that should be considered in anycollection that includes personal narratives as well as formal historical materials. KLIATT Codes: A—Recommended for advanced students, and adults. 1997, Univ. of Oklahoma Press, 257p, 22cm, 96-31861, $12.95 Ages 17 to adult. Reviewer: Edna M. Boardman; former Lib. Media Spec. Magic City Campus, Minot, ND, July 2000 (Vol. 34 No. 4)
Read More Show Less

Product Details

  • ISBN-13: 9780806132426
  • Publisher: University of Oklahoma Press
  • Publication date: 2/28/2000
  • Series: American Indian Literature Series
  • Pages: 272
  • Sales rank: 929,676
  • Product dimensions: 5.49 (w) x 8.45 (h) x 0.80 (d)

Meet the Author

Irvin Morris, a member of the Tobaahi clan of the Navajo Nation, is Professor of American Indian Studies and English at the University of Arizona, Tucson.

Read More Show Less

Customer Reviews

Be the first to write a review
( 0 )
Rating Distribution

5 Star

(0)

4 Star

(0)

3 Star

(0)

2 Star

(0)

1 Star

(0)

Your Rating:

Review Guidelines
Add Recommendations
Your Name: Create a Pen Name or

Barnes & Noble.com Review Rules

Our reader reviews allow you to share your comments on titles you liked, or didn't, with others. By submitting an online review, you are representing to Barnes & Noble.com that all information contained in your review is original and accurate in all respects, and that the submission of such content by you and the posting of such content by Barnes & Noble.com does not and will not violate the rights of any third party. Please follow the rules below to help ensure that your review can be posted.

Reviews by Our Customers Under the Age of 13

We highly value and respect everyone's opinion concerning the titles we offer. However, we cannot allow persons under the age of 13 to have accounts at BN.com or to post customer reviews. Please see our Terms of Use for more details.

What to exclude from your review:

Please do not write about reviews, commentary, or information posted on the product page. If you see any errors in the information on the product page, please send us an email.

Reviews should not contain any of the following:

  • - HTML tags, profanity, obscenities, vulgarities, or comments that defame anyone
  • - Time-sensitive information such as tour dates, signings, lectures, etc.
  • - Single-word reviews. Other people will read your review to discover why you liked or didn't like the title. Be descriptive.
  • - Comments focusing on the author or that may ruin the ending for others
  • - Phone numbers, addresses, URLs
  • - Pricing and availability information or alternative ordering information
  • - Advertisements or commercial solicitation

Reminder:

  • - By submitting a review, you grant to Barnes & Noble.com and its sublicensees the royalty-free, perpetual, irrevocable right and license to use the review in accordance with the Barnes & Noble.com Terms of Use.
  • - Barnes & Noble.com reserves the right not to post any review -- particularly those that do not follow the terms and conditions of these Rules. Barnes & Noble.com also reserves the right to remove any review at any time without notice.
  • - See Terms of Use for other conditions and disclaimers.
Search for Products You'd Like to Recommend

Recommend other products that relate to your review. Just search for them below and share!

Create a Pen Name

Your Pen Name is your unique identity on BN.com. It will appear on the reviews you write and other website activities. Your Pen Name cannot be edited, changed or deleted once submitted.

 
Your Pen Name can be any combination of alphanumeric characters (plus - and _), and must be at least two characters long.

Continue Anonymously
    If you find inappropriate content, please report it to Barnes & Noble
    Why is this product inappropriate?
    Comments (optional)