Post-Tribal Epics. The Native American Novel Between Tradition and Modernity

This volume analyses some of the most important and influential Native American novels published between 1969 and 1992 (Momaday's House Made of Dawn; Silko's Ceremony and Almanac of the Dead; Welch's Winter in the Blood and The Death of Jim Loney; Vizenor's Bearheart; etc.), examining them as post-tribal epics. It frames current discussions of the importance and originality of Native American literature, and especially of the American Indian Novel, within the context of classical debate over distinction between epic and novel, conducted early in the century by Lukacs, Baktin, and Benjamin.