《书目》(Booklist)书评
To Awiakta's Cherokee ancestors, Selu was the Corn-Mother, who imparted to her descendents not only food but the skills for raising it. Awiakta spins the Corn-Mother's story, but she does more than analyze the myth and its importance in an ecologically endangered world. She also searches out the meanings of Selu's nourishment for the human soul, finding in the ancient myths vital messages for today. Reading her work brings the pleasure of perusing the intimate journals of a caring, compassionate person. Awiakta does not arbitrarily separate the past from the present, nor poem from essay, but moves gracefully, for instance, from an interview with Chief Wilma Mankiller to a survey of Cherokee history to a meditation on virtual sex, while messages from birds whimsically pop up along the way. ~--Pat Monaghan
《图书馆杂志》(Library Journal )书评
Rooted in the stories of the Cherokee Corn Mother, Selu, and of the teacher of hunters, Awi Usdi (Little Deer), these stories, essays, drawings, and poems revolve around the fundamental Indian concepts of respect and balance. Awiakta, who grew up in the postwar community of Oak Ridge, Tennessee, the product of Cherokee and Scotch-Irish Appalachian roots, tells how the stories of Selu and Awi Usdi can be applied in all areas of life, from political activism to interpersonal relations. Touching on issues like the Tellico Dam controversy (when the Cherokee's ancient capital was flooded), the reunion of the Eastern and Oklahoma Cherokee, science and technology, government, and diversity, this wide-ranging collection is occasionally repetitious but offers true insights into Native American philosophies and how to apply them to contemporary problems.-- Lisa A. Mitten, Univ. of Pittsburgh Lib. (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
