A recommendation of Dagmar's, a series of beautifully written meditations on the meaning of life. Lots of interesting sources to explore from here.
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A pioneer in the genre of "Psychological" Ghost stories, whereupon allowance is made for both the narrator as well as uncanny origins. Floridly written, it takes a while for the mind to shape itself to the meander of her prose, but worth it, references to classical literature and art abound, Gothic tales evoking the ruins and landscapes of Italy.
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The Autobiography of a Winnebago Indian - Paul Radin
Life, ways, acculturation, and the peyote cult
A slender read, written by an anonymous Winnebego Indian living in the Minneapolis region of the US in the mid-late 1800's. Curious, by western standards rather devoid of descriptions and more of a "these are the facts of my life and my tribe...". Of interest were the notes on the belief in reincarnation, the traditional roles of men and women, traditional knowledge, the narrators doubts regarding initiation and the great earth-spirit, the traditional native idea that to hoard up items you didn't use reflected a poverty of spirit, and that - unless you were actively using them, items were there for communal use - (a sound principle, I might add), there was the emphasis on dying in battle - a heroes death for the warrior clan - rather mirrors the idea of certain extremist Islamic groups.
All and all interesting - always interesting to have keys to the thoughts of long extinct others, and rare enough that we can get it from their own lips. And good to read, if only in that it overturns a lot of the romanticism we've built up over the first nations.
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Found, a Bonanza of books on all things Rod, at thrift store. My absent twin must have thrown in the towel.
Anyways, a lot of good winter reading waiting for the snow to go...
Note, having already read 2 - how many old shoot-outs and outlaws were apprehended without injury by the RCMP. The history of the region is interesting, to say the least. Nowadays few people survive any sort of encounter with the police - once upon a time it was expected.
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